FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Overseas Territories: Elections

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the (a) Governor and (b) government of each Overseas Territory will be inviting election observers to observe forthcoming general elections; and what criteria will be used to select the observers to be invited.

Henry Bellingham: Election observers have not consistently been invited to observe elections in the Overseas Territories. The responsibility for inviting election observers varies from territory to territory and will depend on the constitution, laws and practice of individual territories. The British Government believe that, in general, it is good practice for open democracies, including the Overseas Territories, to invite election observers. There are a number of organisations that organise election observers including the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Commonwealth, and EU. A number of factors might be expected to inform the identification of suitable election observers including geography, history, financing issues and the capacity of observer organisations to respond. I was pleased that observers from the Caribbean Community and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, including members of this house, observed the elections in British Virgin Islands and that they were impressed with the conduct of the elections.

Foreign Relations: Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many education officers his Department employs.

Henry Bellingham: We do not recognise the term education officer.

Syria: Diplomatic Relations

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what options he is considering in respect of future diplomatic relations with Syria.

Alistair Burt: We maintain diplomatic relations with Syria and use these to raise our concerns about the current situation in Syria.

Syria: Human Rights

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to prevent human rights abuses in Syria.

Alistair Burt: The UK Government reiterate their condemnation of the widespread violations of human rights which President Assad and his regime have been committing for months.
	The UK has been at the forefront of international action to bring a halt to the violence in Syria. The UK co-sponsored the Human Rights Council resolution mandating the Commission of Inquiry and supported a third Special Session of the Human Rights Council on 2 December, which passed a strong resolution establishing further monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the flow of independent, factual information about the human rights situation in Syria continues. We have tabled a resolution in the UN General Assembly Third Committee supporting the Arab League's efforts and condemning the violence, which passed by an overwhelming majority. We have pushed hard, though so far unsuccessfully, for action in the Security Council. We have worked with EU partners to impose sanctions on the Syrian regime.
	We continue to believe that President Assad should step aside and allow the Syrian people to realise their aspirations for greater freedom, dignity and a more open political system. We will continue to take every opportunity to intensify the pressure on the Syrian regime to stop the violence.

Syria: Politics and Government

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of protestors killed and wounded in Syria.

Alistair Burt: The UN estimates that more than 4,000 people have been killed in Syria since March, including 307 children. It has reported widespread and systematic human rights violations, including murder, torture, illegal detention and rape. Although exact figures are unknown, many reports put the number of the missing and unaccounted for in the thousands.
	We have made clear repeatedly our condemnation of the widespread violations of human rights which President Assad and his regime have been committing for months. We continue to believe that President Assad should step aside and allow the Syrian people to realise their aspirations for greater freedom, dignity and a more open political system.
	We welcome the publication of the UN Commission of Inquiry's report on human rights violations in Syria. We condemn the Syrian Government's unwillingness to co-operate with the Commission. The UK co-sponsored the Human Rights Council resolution mandating the Commission of Inquiry and supported a third Special Session of the Human Rights Council on 2 December, which passed a strong resolution establishing further monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the flow of independent, factual information about the human rights situation in Syria continues.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

Owen Paterson: No senior staff in my Department, or in its non-departmental public bodies, are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary.

SCOTLAND

Aircraft Carriers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on the construction of Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

David Mundell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of defence-related matters affecting Scotland, including the construction of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. Good progress continues to be made on the carrier project and last month the Secretary of State visited the Babcock site at Rosyth to inspect work which is under way.

Departmental Equality

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent steps his Department has taken to increase equality among its staff; and at what cost.

David Mundell: All staff in the Scotland Office are on loan or secondment, mainly from the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice; both bodies provide a full range of initiatives specific to equality including running equality events, supporting internal staff networks and providing support on corporate equality programmes. Separate figures on costs are not available.

Departmental Internet

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many unique hits his Department's website has received in each of the last 12 months.

David Mundell: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Unique hits 
			 October 2011 3,773 
			 September 2011 3,302 
			 August 2011 2,602 
			 July 2011 2,647 
			 June 2011 3,833 
			 May 2011 3,802 
			 April 2011 2,857 
			 March 2011 3,444 
			 February 2011 2,887 
			 January 2011 2,849 
			 December 2010 4,218 
			 November 2010 4,132

Departmental Internet

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what social media his Department operates.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office operates a Twitter account.

Departmental Older Workers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people aged over (a) 55 and (b) 65 his Department employs.

David Mundell: All staff in the Scotland Office are on loan or secondment, mainly from the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice who hold individual staff personnel records, including details such as dates of birth. The Scotland Office does not hold a record of dates of birth of staff.

Departmental Written Questions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day his Department has answered on the due date in the present session of Parliament.

David Mundell: In the present session of Parliament, the Scotland Office answered 182 (94%) of named-day parliamentary questions on the due date.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

David Mundell: The following table shows the number of named day PQs that received a substantive answer within five working days of the date specified:
	
		
			 2011 Named day  PQs 
			 June 8 
			 July 14 
			 August — 
			 September 6 
			 October 6 
			 November 7 
			   
			 Total number 41 
			 Total percentage 100 
		
	
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Drugs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his policy is on mandatory drug tests for the staff of his Department.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff working in the office are on loan or secondment from other Government bodies, mainly the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice, who remain the principal employers. As such, staff remain on the terms and conditions of their parent bodies. This includes policies relating to substance misuse, conduct and discipline.

Drugs: Misuse

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff of his Department have been disciplined due to drug offences in the last 12 months.

David Mundell: No staff have been disciplined due to drug offences in the last 12 months.

Economic Growth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent steps he has taken to support the economy of Scotland.

David Mundell: On 17 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland announced the membership of the new Scottish Business Board to raise issues and help provide solutions on the Scottish economy. This new Board has the expertise and knowledge to make a real difference to the way we tackle the issues facing the Scottish economy and get the most both from and for our companies across Scotland. The Secretary of State also led the largest ever trade mission to Brazil at the end of November. This trade mission allowed companies from a wide range of Scottish sectors to showcase their services and establish links in a high-growth market which has become increasingly important to the global economy.

Jobcentre Plus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many jobcentres in Scotland he has visited on departmental business in the last 12 months.

David Mundell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has visited the job centre in Edinburgh on departmental business in the last 12 months. He has visited the job centre in Galashiels, Scotland as a constituency MP in the last 12 months. In addition, he met with members of the senior management team of JobCentre Plus on departmental business on eight separate occasions in the last 12 months.

Lockerbie: Bombings

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Libya on the status of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has had no such discussions with the Government of Libya.

Natural Gas: Exploration

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) letters and (b) emails he has received in respect of shale gas extraction in Scotland in the last 12 months.

David Mundell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has not received any letters or e-mails in respect of shale gas extraction in Scotland in the last 12 months.

Olympic Games 2012

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on the effect on Scotland of the London 2012 Olympics.

David Mundell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), on a range of issues including making the most of the opportunities that the London 2012 Olympics will bring to Scotland.

Renewable Energy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had on renewable energy development in Scotland.

David Mundell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I meet regularly with ministerial colleagues, the Scottish Government and the business community to discuss growth of all sectors of the economy. Last month the Secretary of State and I convened the Scottish Business Board which brought together business leaders from across a range of sectors, including those with an interest in development of renewable energy, to discuss measures to break down barriers to growth.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Crimes of Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the total value was of grants awarded by the Government Equalities Office through the Special Fund for local assault services in financial year (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government are committed to tackling sexual violence and all forms of violence against women and girls.
	Victims of rape and sexual assault need support within and beyond the criminal justice system.
	Support is provided through three main pillars:
	specialist sexual violence support services provided by civil society organisations;
	sexual assault referral centres; and
	independent sexual violence advisers.
	The Home Office has allocated £28 million of funding until 2015 for related specialist services in addition to the specialist sexual violence support services, including funding to nearly double the number of specialist independent advisers.
	The Government Equalities Office, as a stand alone Department in the financial year 2010-11, contributed an additional £1 million into a combined fund for sexual violence voluntary sector, managed by the Ministry of Justice.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Lynne Featherstone: From 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office became part of the Home Office. Information relating to the Government Equalities Office will be included in the reply of the Minister for Immigration.

Social Justice Committee: Ministers

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many meetings of the Social Justice Committee Ministers in her Department have attended since its establishment.

Lynne Featherstone: From 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office became part of the Home Office. Information relating to the Government Equalities Office will be included in the reply of the Minister for Immigration.

TRANSPORT

Air Transport Auxiliary

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures her Department is taking to encourage former members of the Air Transport Auxiliary to apply for the Air Transport Auxiliary Veterans Badge.

Theresa Villiers: Air Transport Auxiliary veterans who have not been awarded a Veterans Badge can find details of how to apply on the Directgov website. Badges were awarded to all surviving veterans known to the ATA Association when the scheme was launched in 2008; it was widely publicised at that time.

Bypasses: Kegworth

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress has been made on the Kegworth bypass project; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: In October 2010, the Department for Transport set out the outcomes of the Government's 2010 comprehensive spending review, publishing details of its investment decisions for major road projects on the strategic road network.
	Plans to provide a bypass of Kegworth were not included among the schemes identified, and the Highways Agency is therefore not developing such a proposal at this time.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Automatic Number Plate Recognition

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on the use of automatic number plate recognition at the Dartford crossing.

Michael Penning: The Department received a number of representations on the use of automatic number place recognition (ANPR) during the recently held consultation to raise the charges at the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing. These primarily focused on using ANPR for the delivery of the free-flow project and the ability of ANPR to capture foreign vehicles that use the crossing. The proposals for an ANPR system are currently being considered as part of the design stage for a free-flow charging scheme at the crossing.

Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many contracts her Department has awarded directly to (a) small, (b) medium-sized and (c) large businesses in each month since May 2010; what the value was of such contracts; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has directly awarded the following number of contracts to small, medium and large businesses in each month since May 2010:
	
		
			  Small businesses Medium businesses Large businesses Value (£) 
			 2010     
			 May 9 13 69 33,842,021 
			 June 2 16 77 35,937,683 
			 July 6 13 62 18,967,821 
			 August 2 7 64 20,756,405 
			 September 3 9 66 14,236,977 
			 October 7 8 61 14,370,826 
			 November 4 13 81 18,312,478 
			 December 3 14 72 20,854,239 
			      
			 2011     
			 January 4 9 46 93,978,185 
			 February 3 3 25 11,876,693 
			 March 5 6 37 12,332,948 
			 April 3 4 42 34,137,500 
			 May 2 11 67 86,986,108 
			 June 2 38 193 165,457,099 
			 July 3 42 190 157,940,426 
			 August 2 69 157 35,240,150 
			 September 2 58 157 81,021,994 
			 October 2 20 64 2,630,139

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had on the future of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency office in Preston; and whether the potential closure of the office or redundancies were raised.

Michael Penning: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is reviewing all aspects of its business, including the delivery of services through its local offices. The aim of this is to look at ways in which the customer experience can be improved while delivering increased efficiency. The results of this exercise will be announced in due course.

M4: Repairs and Maintenance

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what improvements are planned for the M4 in each of the next five years; and if she will estimate the (a) cost of the improvements and (b) number of jobs that will be created.

Michael Penning: In April 2011 I published the timetable for the 14 Highways Agency major road schemes due to start construction by 2015; this included the M4 Junctions 19-20 and M5 Junctions 15-17 managed motorway scheme, on which work is scheduled to begin between January and March 2012.
	The cost of this scheme is estimated to be £88.6 million, and it is expected to provide hundreds of jobs during its construction.
	There are no current plans to develop other major improvement schemes for the M4 at this time. However, the Department is working with the Welsh Assembly Government on their proposal to improve the M4 around Newport.

Railways Stations: Standards

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when she expects to announce the successful bids for the Access for All Mid-Tier programme for railway stations; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what the reasons are for the time taken to announce the successful bids to the Access for All Mid-Tier programme for railway stations; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The successful bids for the Access for All mid-tier programme for railway stations were announced today.

Roads: Rural Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will amend the rules governing the deployment of brown signs on major trunk roads in rural areas in order to assist small businesses.

Michael Penning: A working group is currently reviewing the existing criteria for the provision of brown tourist signs on the strategic and local network, to ensure that it meets the needs of road users and gives the tourist industry a helping hand at the same time. It is anticipated that revised guidelines will be available by mid 2012.

Guide Dogs: Passports

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs the issue of travel restrictions for guide dogs with pet passports on cruise ships travelling within the EU.

Michael Penning: The UK is working toward the implementation of EU regulation 1177/2010 concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway which will apply in the UK from 18 December 2012. Provided the ship operator has been notified in advance, the EU regulation requires a ship operator to accommodate an assistance dog with the passenger on a cruise ship where the port of departure is in the EU.
	Department for Transport officials are in discussion with officials in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure the UK's implementation of the EU regulation and national rules relating to the pet travel scheme are compatible.

Wheels to Work Schemes

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people received support through the wheels to work scheme in each of the last five financial years.

Norman Baker: holding answer 5 December 2011
	As Wheels to Work schemes are local in nature, information on how many people are supported through the schemes is not held centrally. Funding is also provided from a variety of sources, including the Local Sustainable Transport Fund administered by my Department, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Rural Development Programme for England.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Alcoholic Drinks: Sales

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the extension of licences for the sale of alcohol for the tourism and hospitality industry during the London 2012 Olympic games.

John Penrose: The Department has been in discussion with the Home Office about extended licensing hours during the Olympic and Paralympic games. In deciding whether to exercise her powers under section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has to consider matters of security, policing, public order and public safety for these events.

BBC: Redundancy Pay

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will discuss with the BBC Trust the issue of clawback of severance pay or compensation for BBC staff made redundant who are re-employed as (a) BBC staff and (b) consultants within two years.

Edward Vaizey: The employment of staff and consultants is a matter for the BBC and there is no provision for Government to intervene. I do not intend to raise this with the BBC Trust.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the willingness of commercial companies to roll out broadband services of speeds of 80 to 100 MBits in the 10 proposed super-connected cities.

Edward Vaizey: In support of this initiative, BT and Virgin Media have committed to strengthening their networks in the winning cities and will be offering their broadband services with 80-100 Mbps potential.
	It is also possible that other suppliers may make similar proposals.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of demand for broadband services of 80 to 100 MBits in the 10 proposed super-connected cities.

Edward Vaizey: It is expected that local authorities will assess demand for unmet broadband services as part of their bid.

Broadband Delivery UK: Manpower

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent staff Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) (a) has and (b) will have in each year of the spending review period; and what the budget of BDUK (i) is for 2011-12 and (ii) will be for each year of that period.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) has 9.6 full-time equivalent staff for the year 2011-12. The staff resource needed for future years has not yet been determined.
	BDUK's budget for each of the four years from 2011-12 to 2014-15 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Budget (£ million) 
			 2011-12 92 
			 2012-13 106 
			 2013-14 165 
			 2014-15 165 
		
	
	The budget profile is currently under review and will take account of the Broadband Delivery Programme Delivery Model (published in May 2011 and available at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/8482.aspx
	the progress that BDUK has made in developing a Broadband Framework for suppliers; and the procurements undertaken by the initial broadband pilot projects and other local areas.

Festivals and Special Occasions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department took to (a) celebrate and (b) promote (i) St George's Day, (ii) St Andrew's Day and (iii) St Patrick's Day in the last 12 months.

John Penrose: To celebrate St George's Day, St Andrew's Day and St Patrick's Day, the Department flew the St George's Cross, the Saltire and the Union flag respectively. English Heritage, one of the Department's arm's length bodies, marked St George's day in 2011 with four separate events that were attended by around 16,000 visitors. This included the annual St George's Festival at Wrest park, which welcomed 8,500 visitors over three days.

Film

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received as part of his Department's film policy review; when his Department will respond; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Lord Smith, who is leading the independent film policy review panel, will report to Ministers before the end of this year or early next year and the Government response will follow later. As part of the consultation process, Lord Smith's panel received over 300 submissions of evidence from the public and industry, and have conducted more than 70 meetings with a range of stakeholders.

Film

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received on support for the UK animation industry; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has received representations on support for the British animation industry from:
	The Deputy Prime Minister;
	Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills;
	Mark Field MP;
	Animation UK;
	Aardman Animations Ltd;
	Hands Up Productions Ltd;
	Q Pootle 5 Ltd; and
	two members of the public.
	We are giving careful and early consideration to the issues raised. In addition, the animation sector is represented on the Creative Industries Council. Creative Industry Council members instigate industry-led approaches to boosting the growth and competitiveness of the creative industries with Government facilitating and removing barriers where appropriate.

Paralympic Games 2012

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received on a legacy following the London 2012 Olympics for Paralympic sports.

Hugh Robertson: The Department regularly receives letters relating to the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
	The Government are committed to leaving a strong and lasting legacy for disabled people all over the UK. Plans to harness the inspirational power of the games in order to accelerate progress towards achieving disability equality were set out in “London 2012: A Legacy for Disabled People”, published by the Office for Disability Issues in April 2011
	http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/odi-projects/2012-legacy.php
	As part of Places People Play, the Government's £136 million lottery-funded sports legacy programme for the London Olympics and Paralympics, £8 million has been allocated by Sport England for a programme specifically targeted at inspiring more disabled people to take part in sport and providing more opportunities for participation.
	There is a whole new approach through the School Games to significantly increase opportunities for disabled pupils to compete on a local, regional and national level. The School Games will include sports such as Wheelchair Basketball, Table Cricket and Polybat. Also, for the first time, through the Taking Part Survey, we will specifically measure participation rates of disabled children in competitive sport.

JUSTICE

Birmingham Prison

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of monitoring the HM Prison Birmingham contract over the next 15 years.

Crispin Blunt: The authority has budgeted for costs totalling £3,631,000 over the 15-year period of the contract to provide a controller and team for HMP Birmingham. This is the nominal cost for providing this resource and includes including an annual allowance for inflation based on average weekly earnings (AWE) in accordance with Treasury Green Book.

Birmingham Prison

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the monetary value was of G4S’s bid to operate HM Prison Birmingham;
	(2)  what notional costs were added in respect of (a) the in-house bid and (b) the G4S bid to operate HM Prison Birmingham;
	(3)  what the monetary value was of the in-house bid to operate HM Prison Birmingham (a) including and (b) excluding notional costs.

Crispin Blunt: The net present cost (NPC) value of the G4S contract to operate and maintain HMP Birmingham is £316,500,000 over 15 years.
	We do not recognise what is meant by the term ‘notional’ in this context and therefore can only advise that no ‘notional’ costs were asked for.

Children: Abduction

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to review the law on the abduction of children by their parents.

Jonathan Djanogly: There are no plans at present for the UK to review the current law on international parental child abduction.

County Courts

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to publish the Government's response to his Department's consultation on solving disputes in the county courts; on what date it was initially scheduled for publication; and what the reason is for the time taken to publish the response.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government expect the consultation response to be published in the new year. The response was initially scheduled for publication in October but this was postponed due to ongoing discussions within Government.

County Courts

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with which organisations his Department had discussions on or about the subject matter of its consultation on solving disputes in the county courts (a) before and (b) after the consultation closed.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Department has engaged in discussions with the following organisations during the course of this year, on subjects covered by the Solving Disputes consultation:
	Association of British Insurers
	Civil Mediation Council
	Forum of Insurance Lawyers
	Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
	Motor Accident Solicitors Society
	The Law Society
	The British Bankers Association
	Citizens Advice
	Her Majesties' Association of District Judges
	R3 (Association of Business Recovery Professionals)
	Civil Courts Users Association
	Office of Fair Trade
	Shergroup
	The Land Registry
	Centre for Peaceful Solutions and Brent Mediation Centre
	Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution
	Law Works Mediation
	National Health Service Litigation Authority
	Medical Protection Society
	Weightmans Solicitors.

County Courts

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many submissions his Department received to its consultation on solving disputes in the county courts.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Department received 319 responses to the consultation.

Defamation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on defamation.

Jonathan Djanogly: We are currently giving careful consideration to the recommendations of the parliamentary Joint Committee on the draft Defamation Bill and to the views expressed by respondents to our public consultation, and will seek to introduce a substantive Defamation Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Departmental Advisory Services

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what contribution his Department has made to the cross-government review of advice funding announced in July 2011.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, who has responsibility for civil society, formally announced the cross-government review of free advice services on 21 November 2011. I can confirm that my Department is working closely with the Cabinet Office to support this work.

Departmental Civil Proceedings

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases.

Jonathan Djanogly: None to the Department's knowledge.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice has outsourced the following services in the last five years.
	
		
			  Suppliers Service 
			 2007 Steria, Tibco and Oracle ICT software support 
			    
			 2008 Information Initiatives, O2, Cable and Wireless, Global Crossing, Polo Lake, VP Treen, Vodaphone, Informatica, HP ICT consultancy, software support, managed services 
			    
			 2009 DHL National prisoner retail 
			  Microsoft, SDL Trados, Information Techology, Kineo LLP, IBM, Mouchel QAS, Oracle Managed services and software support 
			    
			 2010 HP, Bottomline, XMA, Oracle, Bantec, Steria, MEGA, SAS, Accenture, Savvis Managed services, software support and hosting 
			    
			 2011 G4S Custodial Services—HMP Birmingham 
			   Custodial Services—HMP Featherstone II 
			    
			  O2, Gartner, Amtec, Alliantist, Mouchel, Ninian Solutions, BT, HFX, Bottomline, Detca, Oracle, PC Solutions, RSJ UK Software support, managed services and hosting

Departmental Publications

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) leaflets, (b) posters and (c) reports his Department has published since May 2010; how much each cost; and which company (i) published and (ii) designed each.

Kenneth Clarke: Since May 2010, my Department has published (a) 17 leaflets at a total cost of £10,740.57; (b) 27 posters at a total cost of £2,683.73; and (c) 61 reports at a total cost of £87,991.73. A breakdown of all three categories is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Title Designed by Design costs (£) Published by Publishing costs (£) 
			 Deputy Factsheets MOJ in-house design team 0.00 Prison industries 3,303.00 
			 LPA120 MOJ in-house design team 0.00 Prison industries 929.00 
			 OPG120 MOJ in-house design team 0.00 Prison industries 789.00 
			 Security Group (for Home Office Exhibition) Zephyr Design 445.00 Zephyr Design 980.00 
			 Belief in change MOJ in-house design team 0.00 Internal 0.00 
			 Competition for Custodial Services and Works Zephyr Design 735.00 Zephyr Design 1,396.12 
			 Rolls Building MOJ in-house design team 0.00 In-house print service 696.00 
			 Small Claims Telephone Mediation MOJ in-house design team 0.00 Internal 0.00 
			 Introducing our Ministers MOJ in-house design team 0.00 In-house print service 250.00 
			 Security Awareness MOJ in-house design team 0.00 In-house print service 204.00 
			 About MOJ MOJ in-house design team 0.00 Internal 0.00 
			 Public Sector Equality Duty MOJ in-house design team 0.00 In-house print service 409.80 
		
	
	
		
			 Support Disability in the Workplace MOJ in-house design team 0.00 In-house print service 204.90 
			 Transforming Justice MOJ in-house design team 0.00 In-house print service 150.00 
			 Staff apprenticeship MOJ in-house design team 0.00 In-house print service 30.00 
			 Greater London Family Panel MOJ in-house design team 0.00 In-house print service 218.75 
			 Managing our money together MOJ in-house design team 0.00 Online only 0.00 
			 Total  1,180.00  9,560.57

Crown Dependencies: Elections

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Governor of each of the Crown Dependencies will be inviting election observers to observe forthcoming general elections.

Jonathan Djanogly: General elections were held in the Isle of Man in September of this year, and in Jersey in October. Alderney and Sark held general elections in 2010 and Guernsey's general election will take place in April 2012.
	As self-governing Dependencies of the Crown, it is for the Government authorities in each jurisdiction to determine whether they wish to invite election observers to observe their general elections.

Miscarriages of Justice

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has considered bringing forward legislative proposals to change the procedures of the Criminal Cases Review Commission to enable the correction of more miscarriages of justice.

Jonathan Djanogly: I am not considering bringing forward legislative proposals to change the procedures of the CCRC at this time.

Offenders: Crimes of Violence

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many defendants charged with (a) violent and (b) sexual offences who are (i) on remand awaiting trial, (ii) in the community awaiting trial without conditions and (iii) in the community awaiting trial with conditions.

Crispin Blunt: As at 30 September 2011 there were 2,446 prisoners on remand awaiting trial for violence against the person offences, and 779 on remand awaiting trial for sexual offences. Equivalent figures for the numbers in the community awaiting trial on conditional or unconditional bail are not held centrally, and could be derived only by checking individual level court records. This would incur disproportionate cost.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Personal Injury

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reason his Department's round-table consultation meeting on personal injury matters scheduled for 1 November 2011 was postponed; and on what date it is to be rescheduled.

Jonathan Djanogly: The round-table discussion was postponed as the publication of the Government's response to ‘Solving Disputes in the County Courts’ has been delayed. The meeting will be rescheduled for the new year, once the consultation response has been published.

Prisoners: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the number of offenders in prisons in England and Wales diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Paul Burstow: I have been asked to reply
	, on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Offenders are all screened on arrival in prison by a trained nurse or trained officer to find out what their health needs are and get them the right treatment. People at risk of having a mental health problem, or vulnerable to suicide, are referred for a mental health assessment.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders have been prosecuted for assault on a member of prison staff in each of the last five years.

Edward Garnier: I have been asked to reply.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central record of victims’ professions and they are unable to identify, from their central database, those assault cases involving prison staff. This data could be obtained only by examining all of the CPS’s files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Metal Theft

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2011, Official Report, column 580W, on prosecutions: metals, what the amount of each of the fines imposed following conviction under the Scrap Metals Dealers Act 1964 was in 2010.

Crispin Blunt: Pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2011, Official Report, column 580W, the amount of each fine imposed under the Scrap Metals Dealers Act 1964 in England and Wales, in 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
	
		
			 Total amount of fines issued under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 (1)  England and Wales, 2010 (2,3) 
			 Number of offenders fined Fine amount (£) Total amount imposed (£) 
			 1 50 50 
			 1 100 100 
			 1 190 190 
			 2 200 400 
			 2 400 800 
			 1 500 500 
			 1 750 750 
			 1 1,000 1,000 
			 10 — 3,790 
			 (1) Includes: Offences by dealers in scrap metal and similar goods and in marine stores. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how long on average it took the Tribunals Service to administer a First-Tier Tribunal social security and child support appeal in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011;
	(2)  how long on average the Tribunals Service took to administer a First-Tier Tribunal social security and child support appeal in respect of (a) disability living allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support, (d) jobseeker's allowance and (e) tax credits in 2010; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures for 2011;
	(3)  how many disability living allowance appeals were heard by the Tribunals Service from appellants in (a) England, (b) the west midlands and (c) Coventry in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011;
	(4)  what proportion of appeals to the Tribunals Service regarding (a) disability living allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support, (d) jobseeker's allowance and (e) tax credit were successful in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011.

Jonathan Djanogly: Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions on an individual's entitlement to social security and child support are heard by the First-Tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support). The data are provided broken down by financial year, which is more readily available for the SSCS tribunal.
	(1) The average time from receipt of an appeal to disposal by the tribunal was (a) 14.3 weeks in 2009-10, (b) 19.5 weeks in 2010-11, and (c) 24 weeks between 1 April 2011 and 31 October (the latest date for which information is available). These figures include cases that were decided by a tribunal hearing and those that were disposed of by other means (such as being withdrawn, superseded or struck out).
	(2) The following table gives the average time taken from receipt of an appeal to disposal by the tribunal in the financial year of 2010-11 and from 1 April 2011 to 31 October (the latest date for which information is available).
	
		
			 Appeal time from receipt to disposal 
			 Weeks 
			  2010-11 1 April to 31 October 2011 
			 Disability living allowance 22.5 28.3 
			 Employment and support allowance 19.4 24 
			 Income support 19.8 25.7 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 12.6 14.1 
			 Tax credits 15.4 17.9 
		
	
	(3) Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service does not hold data specific to the west midlands or Coventry. However, the majority of disability living allowance (DLA) appeals made by people in the west midlands are heard in the hearing venues in Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Stoke, Wolverhampton, Worcester and Kidderminster although these venues also hear appeals from other nearby locations. The majority of DLA appeals made by people in Coventry are heard in the hearing venue in Coventry although this venue also hears appeals from other nearby locations.
	The following table shows the number of DLA appeals disposed of at all hearing venues in England; hearing venues in the west midlands; and the hearing venue in Coventry in the financial years of 2009-10, 2010-11 and from 1 April 2011 to 31 October (the latest date for which information is available). The table also shows the number of DLA appeals disposed of at tribunal hearing in these venues during these time periods.
	
		
			 DLA appeal disposals 
			  2009-10 2010-11 1 April to 31 October 2011 
			 Total DLA appeals disposed of    
			 England 50,900 50,500 38,900 
			 West midlands 4,800 4,800 3,800 
			 Coventry 690 510 450 
			     
			 DLA appeals disposed of at hearing    
			 England 40,900 39,400 31,600 
			 West midlands 4,000 3,700 3,000 
			 Coventry 550 380 340 
		
	
	(4) The following table shows the proportion of appeals regarding (a) disability living allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support, (d) jobseeker’s allowance and (e) tax credit which were successful in the financial years of 2009-10, 2010-11 and from 1 April 2011 to 31 October (the latest date for which information is available).
	
		
			 Successful appeals 
			 Percentage 
			  2009-10 2010-11 1 April to 31 October 2011 
			 Disability living allowance 41 38 39 
			 Employment and support allowance 37 37 38 
		
	
	
		
			 Income support 29 28 27 
			 Jobseeker’s allowance 18 13 15 
			 Tax credits 15 10 10 
		
	
	In response to significant and unforecast increases in appeals to the SSCS Tribunal, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has increased its hearing capacity. Total disposals by the SSCS Tribunal in the period between April and October 2011 were 21% up on the same period in 2010, and 66% higher than in the same seven months in 2009. Disposals have exceeded appeals received in each of the last 10 months.

Treasure Trove: Coroners

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information his Department holds on the cost to local authorities of local coroners holding inquests on cases of treasure in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information requested is not held centrally. To obtain this information would be at disproportionate cost as it would require every coroner in England and Wales to interrogate the accounts sent to local authorities for inquests into treasure finds for 2009 and 2010.

Treasure Trove: Coroners

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the contribution of Lord McNally of 23 November 2011, Official Report, House of Lords, column 11605, on the Public Bodies Bill [Lords], if he will establish the post of Coroner for Treasure; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Implementation of the Coroner for Treasure is dependent on funding being available for that post. On 17 November 2011, the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), who has responsibility for communications and creative industries, informed interested parties that funding is not currently available for the post. However, the matter will be reviewed as part of the implementation of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Trials: Disclosure of Information

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department takes to identify occasions when court hearings take place that are not formally listed; what guidance his Department has issued to courts on listing cases that will not be held in public; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Listing is a judicial responsibility and function. HMCTS provides guidance to the administration on listing, but it is a matter for the judiciary how cases are assigned and listed in court, which includes those that are held in chambers and not accessible by the public.
	All criminal cases are formally listed and all hearings are recorded at the courthouse through internal systems and databases, which collect this information centrally for HMCTS. Daily court lists are published but hearings such as breaches and execution of bench warrants are occasionally at short notice. Therefore it is not always possible to republish the list.
	In civil and family cases, the only cases are not published on the court lists are those cases that are emergency applications, which come in at short notice. Such hearings are recorded on the cause list by the court clerk.
	All cases are listed depending on their priority, regardless of whether they are to be in public or in private. Published court lists include information relating to both public and private hearings, although where there are sensitive cases to be heard in private, the full names of the parties may be withheld in order to protect the vulnerable. This includes adoption and care proceedings involving children.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service: Training

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutors in the Crown Prosecution Service have received domestic violence training in each year since 2008.

Dominic Grieve: Due to the volume of domestic violence prosecutions, all prosecutors and associate prosecutors were trained between 2005 and 2008—approximately 4,500 members of staff.
	From April 2008 to end of November 2011, 676 new staff have completed domestic violence training. A breakdown of yearly uptake is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Prosecutor or associate prosecutors trained in DV 
			  Number 
			 2011 (January to November) 115 
			 2010 187 
			 2009 144 
			 2008 230

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General whether any senior staff in (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) their Executive agencies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

Edward Garnier: No senior staff in the Law Officers' Departments or Executive agency are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary. The Law Officers' Departments do not have any policies governing payment by such a method.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Dominic Grieve: Information on the number of named-day written questions received by the Attorney-General's Office over the last six months is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 2011 Number of written questions received for answer on a named day Number answered on the named day Proportion on time (%) 
			 July 4 3 75 
			 June 9 9 100 
			 August 0 — — 
			 September 2 2 100 
			 October 5 4 80 
			 November 2 2 100 
			 Total 22 20 91 
		
	
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

DEFENCE

Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many civilian staff will lose their jobs following the announcement on 10 November 2011 regarding the restructuring of regional divisions;
	(2)  how many civilian jobs will be lost as a result of the closure of Headquarters 2nd Division at (a) Edinburgh, (b) Aldershot and (c) Shrewsbury.

Nick Harvey: This restructuring will remove 440 civilian posts from our regional force structures at both division and brigade levels, and their supporting units.
	The following civilian posts will be cut in each of the divisional headquarters. These losses, which were included in the reduction target announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review White Paper, will be offset by the creation of a number of posts in the new Support Command headquarters in Aldershot.
	
		
			 Headquarters Civilian job increases/decreases 
			 HQ 2nd Division Edinburgh—disbands -103 
			 HQ 4th Division Aldershot—disbands -82 
			 HQ 5th Division Shrewsbury—disbands -63 
			 HQ Support Command Aldershot—forms +104 
		
	
	Civilian staff declared surplus will be placed in the Department’s redeployment pool and given assistance to find an alternative post.

EU Defence Policy

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to joining (a) the European Air Transport Fleet Programme Arrangement and (b) the Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices Theatre Exploitation Laboratory Technical Arrangement.

Peter Luff: We continue to monitor the progress of the European Air Transport Fleet Programme and keep our current position of non-membership under review.
	We support the work undertaken through the Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) Theatre Exploitation Laboratory Technical Arrangement, including through sharing information on the UK's established C-IED capability, but we do not intend to join the programme.

Military Bases: Scotland

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which bases in Scotland are currently undergoing a capacity review; what the scope of the review is; and what the time scale is for completion of the review.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence is currently planning to look at the potential capacity, utilisation and condition or disposal opportunities of a number of sites across the UK. It is expected this work will be undertaken in the first half of 2012, so at present, it is too early to say which sites in Scotland will be included.

Military Bases: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many (a) military and (b) civilian personnel are employed at the Eastriggs Storage Depot in Dumfriesshire;
	(2)  how much his Department has invested in the Eastriggs Storage Depot in Dumfriesshire in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the Scotland office on the future of the Eastriggs Storage Depot in Dumfriesshire;
	(4)  how many (a) military and (b) civilian personnel were stationed at the Eastriggs Storage Depot in Dumfriesshire in each year since 1997;
	(5)  if he will estimate the annual cost of wages for service and civilian personnel based at (a) the Eastriggs Storage Depot in Dumfriesshire and (b) the Longtown Facility in Cumbria.

Peter Luff: The Eastriggs storage depot is no longer used. In October 2010, all personnel and operations were moved to the nearby Defence Munitions site at Longtown. Since 2004, the number of personnel based at Eastriggs storage depot were:
	
		
			 Number 
			  Military personnel Civilian personnel 
			 2004 (1)— 41 
			 2005 (1)— 44 
			 2006 (1)— 43 
			 2007 0 44 
			 2008 0 34 
			 2009 0 28 
			 2010 0 5 
			 2011 0 0 
			 (1 )Not held. 
		
	
	Records of military and civilian manpower numbers at Eastriggs storage depot prior to 2007, and 2004 respectively are not available. There have been no staff permanently based at Eastriggs since October 2010.
	For financial year 2011-12, the cost of wages for Ministry of Defence civilians and military personnel based at Defence Munitions Longtown is approximately £7 million.
	Investment over each of the last five years in the Eastriggs storage depot was:
	
		
			 Financial year Expenditure (£) 
			 2006-07 244,000 
			 2007-08 320,000 
			 2008-09 992,000 
			 2009-10 120,000 
			 2010-11 63,000 
		
	
	No decisions have been made regarding the future of Eastriggs storage depot. No discussions have recently taken place with the Scotland Office specifically in respect of the future of the site.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have (a) applied for asylum and been refused, (b) appealed to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal against such refusal and (c) had their appeal refused by the Immigration Appeals Tribunal; and of those numbers how many her Department estimates have (i) left the jurisdiction voluntarily and (ii) been subject to enforced removal in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The following tables show the number of people who applied for asylum in a given year and how many subsequently:
	(a) were refused asylum and, of which, how many have had a removal or voluntary departure;
	(b) appealed to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal/Tribunals Service Immigration and Asylum against such refusal and, of which, how many have had a removal or voluntary departure; and
	(c) had their appeal refused and, of which, how many have had a removal or voluntary departure.
	Information on whether the departure was voluntary or an enforced removal is not available; instead the departure type has been split into available categories of ‘enforced removals and notified voluntary departures’ and ‘assisted voluntary return and other voluntary departures’.
	Data on asylum and removal outcomes are available in the asylum table as.06 of the quarterly Immigration Statistics. The latest release: “Immigration Statistics July - September 2011” is available in the Library of the House and the Home Office Science website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/
	
		
			 Outcome analysis of asylum applications, as at May 2011 
			   Refused asylum, HP or DL (a) (i) and (ii) 
			  Total main applicants Refused asylum, HP or DL Removals and voluntary departures Enforced removals and notified voluntary departures Assisted voluntary returns and other voluntary departures 
			 2006 23,608 16,415 4,722 3,752 970 
			 2007 23,431 15,203 4,179 3,238 941 
			 2008 25,932 15,035 3,998 3,013 985 
			 2009 24,487 15,211 3,518 2,583 935 
			 2010 17,916 11,304 2,907 2,117 790 
		
	
	
		
			   Appeals lodged (b ) (i) and (ii) 
			  Total main applicants Appeals lodged Removals and voluntary departures Enforced removals and notified voluntary departures Assisted voluntary returns and other voluntary departures 
			 2006 23,608 11,519 2,247 1,544 703 
			 2007 23,431 10,462 1,975 1,300 675 
			 2008 25,932 11,794 1,738 1,088 650 
			 2009 24,487 12,794 1,705 1,051 654 
			 2010 17,916 8,943 1,391 919 472 
		
	
	
		
			   Dismissed appeals (c) (i) and (ii) 
			  Total main applicants Dismissed appeals Removals and voluntary departures Enforced removals and notified voluntary departures Assisted voluntary returns and other voluntary departures 
			 2006 23,608 8,375 2,138 1,481 657 
			 2007 23,431 7,421 1,796 1,208 588 
			 2008 25,932 7,963 1,592 1,014 578 
			 2009 24,487 8,252 1,583 988 595 
			 2010 17,916 5,899 1,273 869 404 
			 Notes: 1. Data relating to applications or decisions made in 2010 and 2011 are provisional figures. 2. Statistics compiled on 9 May 2011. Further initial decisions, appeals and removals and voluntary departures will have occurred since this time. 3. Year relates to the period in which the application was made; the initial decisions and appeals within a ‘year of application’ may have been made in a later year. 4. Refusals exclude withdrawn applications. 5. Excludes outcomes of cases reconsidered prior to appeal. Excludes cases which were successful after appeal to the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. 6. ‘Enforced removals and notified voluntary departures’ figures include asylum removals performed by UK Border Agency officers using in-country powers of removal and a small number of cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls. 7. Since October 2006, ‘enforced removals and notified voluntary departures’ include people leaving under facilitated return schemes. 8. ‘Assisted voluntary returns’ may include some on-entry cases and some cases where enforcement action has been initiated. 9. ‘Other voluntary departures’ are people who it has been established left without informing the immigration authorities.

Asylum: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what emergency facilities are available for users of the section 4 payment card whose weekly resources have been exceeded.

Damian Green: There are no such facilities. Supported persons are expected to live within the prescribed weekly credit limit of £35.39 per person.

Civil Disorder: Compensation

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims were received by each police authority in England under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 between August and October 2011; and what the amount of those claims was.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 1 December 2011
	Applications have been made directly to police authorities and there is no requirement for them to provide this information to the Home Office.
	Therefore, the precise figures of claims received and values will be held locally by each police authority.

Civil Disorder: Compensation

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the number of claims under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 that have been made by each police authority in relation to the civil disorder of August 2011;
	(2)  how many claims have been paid by police authorities under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 in relation to the civil disorder of August 2011 as at 25 November 2011;
	(3)  when she expects all final claims for compensation under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 for the civil disorder of August 2011 to be assessed by police authorities.

Nick Herbert: Applications have been made directly to police authorities and there is no requirement for them to provide this information to the Home Office.
	Therefore, the precise figures of claims received will be held locally by each police authority.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any senior staff in (a) her Department and (b) its Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if she will publish her policy on such payments.

Damian Green: Senior staff in the Home Office and its agencies are contracted to work a set number of hours and are paid accordingly via the departmental pay roll. This applies to those on permanent contracts and fixed term appointments. Senior staff outside these arrangements are appointed through frameworks and agreements as determined by the Government Procurement Service. Full details of all such framework agreements can be found via the following link:
	http://www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/frameworks/list.html
	This also applies to senior staff in the Department’s non-departmental public bodies (NDBPS).

Detention Centres

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding the UK Border Agency has allocated to investment in pre-departure accommodation since May 2010; and at which locations.

Damian Green: Since we ended the detention of children for immigration purposes in removal centres, we have introduced a new approach to enforce the departure of families who have to leave and refuse to do so voluntarily. Cedars pre-departure accommodation at Pease Pottage near Crawley in West Sussex is part of that approach and is only used as a last resort following advice from the independent Family Returns Panel.
	The full cost of the refurbishment of the building and grounds at Cedars to provide the accommodation is approximately £5.2 million, which includes all building works, consultancy, furniture and fittings and security and IT.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that genuine students from overseas will be able to continue to study theology at private colleges.

Damian Green: My officials continue to discuss implementation of the student visa rules with theological colleges. The Government have been clear that genuine high-quality educational institutions have nothing to fear from our reforms of student visas, which ensure that we can continue to attract the best students whose main motivation is study. No permanent limit has been placed on student visas.

Harassment: Surveillance

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions where complaints received by each police force in England and Wales about harassment or stalking the suspect was the subject of a police surveillance operation in 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: The information requested is not recorded centrally.
	Stalking behaviour can be prosecuted under The Protection from Harassment Act 1997. My Department, working with the Ministry of Justice, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) continues to keep the effectiveness of this legislation under review. The Home Office has recently launched a consultation seeking views on how we can better protect victims of stalking.

Hillsborough Independent Panel

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement of 17 October 2011, Official Report, columns 668-70, on Hillsborough disaster, how many documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster have so far been released to the Hillsborough independent panel.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 5 December 2011
	I am happy to confirm that all documents held by Government Departments have been released to the Hillsborough independent panel. The Government fully support the work of the independent panel and it is for the panel to take forward its work in relation to those documents.

Human Trafficking: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the extent of human trafficking in Northern Ireland.

Damian Green: During the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2011 there were 1,481 referrals to the National Referral Mechanism, of these 35 (2%) related to Northern Ireland and comprised 14 nationalities. 24 of these referrals were from three nationalities: China (17), Nigeria (5) and Romania (2).

Illegal Immigrants

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people in the United Kingdom who have no right to be within the jurisdiction.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is not able to provide the information requested. It is not possible to accurately quantify the number of individuals currently in the UK who have no right to be within the jurisdiction, as some deliberately evade immigration control in order to remain in the country illegally.
	The e-Borders system enables checks to be made on individuals arriving or exiting the country but is not yet fully rolled out. The Government are committed to ensuring that the number of UK ports undertaking exit checks is increased to ensure a more complete travel history is recorded on passengers.
	The UK Border Agency has established local immigration teams across the UK to gather intelligence, tackle illegal working, and track down and detain immigration offenders. The focus of these teams include the prevention and disruption of illegal activity and the arrest and removal of offenders.

Illegal Immigrants

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested as illegal workers during searches of business premises in each of the last three years; and how many such people were removed from the UK in each region in each year.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency record data relating to offenders arrested on the National Operations Database. From information held we can state that the following numbers of people were arrested for offences related specifically to illegal working visits:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008-09 5,804 
			 2009-10 4,288 
			 2010-11 4,186 
			 Total 14,278 
		
	
	All data are sourced from the National Operations Database (NOD) system. The NOD is a management information tool and data from it are not quality-assured under national statistics protocols. Figures provided from the NOD do not constitute part of national statistics and should be treated as provisional.
	However, to determine which of these individuals arrested have been removed would only be possible by examination of individual records which would exceed the cost threshold.

Immigration Controls

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking in respect of her Department’s performance in arresting and detaining those who do not comply with immigration controls.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency’s enforcement operation remains focused on arresting, detaining and removing illegal migrants. Between 1 January and 30 September 2011, 26,962 illegal migrants in the UK were removed or voluntarily departed.
	The agency has taken further steps to improve the information we have on the whereabouts of illegal migrants. In particular, to make it easier for members of the public to submit information, a new web form was introduced on the UK Border Agency website on 2 November 2011, which sets out clearly the information needed in order for the agency to act. We are currently developing this form further to enhance the quality of the information we receive from the public, part of our ongoing commitment to improve our capability in this area.
	The agency is working to improve its performance in achieving removals of illegal migrants. There is a current focus on refinement of our contact management techniques to improve the voluntary return rate of illegal migrants. Additionally, steps are being taken to enhance absconder tracing and streamline processes to improve the success rate of enforcement operations. The agency will continue to focus on maximising productivity from all its enforcement assets including reporting centres, arrest teams, immigration removal centres and charter flights.

Immigration: Europe

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures her Department has taken to share criminal records data with other EU member states in order to exclude EEA nationals from entry to the UK under the provisions of Regulation 19 (1B) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 5 December 2011
	Regulation 19(1 B) which came into effect on 1 June 2009 enables the Secretary of State for the Home Department to exclude an EEA national, or member of his/her family, where she considers that exclusion is justified on the grounds of public policy, public security or public health. In reaching a decision the Secretary of State is obliged to take a number of factors into account. These include: the decision must be proportionate, it must be based on the personal conduct of the individual concerned and that conduct must represent a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society. The fact that a person may have a previous criminal conviction does not of itself justify an exclusion decision.
	Where the United Kingdom receives information, such as arrest warrants, from foreign law enforcement agencies which indicates that individuals might be present in, or coming to, the United Kingdom and could present a risk to public protection, we will include that information on the watchlists. Where an individual is extradited from the United Kingdom, or is deported as a result of their criminal record, such information may also be recorded on the watchlists.
	The United Kingdom also exchanges data with other EU member states under Council Decision 2005/876/JHA on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record. This means that where an EU national is subject to criminal proceedings here, the United Kingdom may ask their country of nationality for details of their previous criminal record. Such information may then be used in the criminal justice process.
	When the United Kingdom connects to the new second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) in 2015 we will receive more information about individuals wanted on European arrest warrants and we anticipate stopping more EEA nationals at our borders as a result.

Kidnapping: Children

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of children abducted from the UK since 2006; and how many such abductions were carried out by the child's parents.

Jonathan Djanogly: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The Home Office has responsibility for prevention of the criminal offence of child abduction. The Home Office statistics for the number of children reported to police as abducted within England and Wales in each financial year for which statistics are available from 2006 are shown in the table; children are those under 16. Home Office statistics do not show whether or not the abduction was by a parent, nor whether the abducted child was removed from the UK, or not. Some of these offences may have an international element involving a parent and may therefore also appear in the international parental child abduction statistics as follows.
	
		
			 Police recorded offences of child abduction 2006-07 to 2010-11, England and Wales. Each offence relates to one child . 
			  Number 
			 2006-07 696 
			 2007-08 595 
			 2008-09 567 
			 2009-10 559 
			 2010-11 552 
		
	
	The collection of police recorded statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
	Statistics on international parental child abductions are collected by the number of cases, where a case can involve more than one child; cases under the 1980 Hague convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction relate to children under 16.
	The number of outgoing international parental child abduction cases since 2006 from the UK to countries that have ratified or acceded to the 1980 Hague convention are as follows, by calendar year:
	
		
			 International parental child abduction. Each ease may involve more than one child 
			 Cases 
			  Outgoing from England and Wales Outgoing from Scotland Outgoing from Northern Ireland 
			 2006 153 9 6 
			 2007 183 10 5 
			 2008 181 9 12 
			 2009 193 15 7 
			 2010 158 10 8 
		
	
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has responsibility for international parental child abduction from all parts of the UK to countries that have not ratified or acceded to the 1980 Hague convention or where the convention is not in force between the UK and the country in question. Children are those under 16. The FCO may also provide consular support in outgoing Hague convention country cases. Cases by financial year dealt with by the FCO to Hague convention and non-convention countries between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2011 are shown in the table. Where a case was to a Hague convention country, that case will also appear in the statistics for the relevant part of the UK.
	
		
			 International parental child abduction FCO cases (outgoing from the UK) Each case may involve more than one child . 
			  Cases 
			 2006-07 265 
			 2007-08 249 
			 2008-09 196 
			 2009-10 238 
			 2010-11 264 
		
	
	The Government have not made an overall estimate of the number of child abductions within the UK or from the UK to countries abroad. Statistics can only cover reported cases.

Metropolitan Police: Manpower

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in each basic command unit of the Metropolitan police force on (a) 31 March 2010, (b) 30 September 2010 and (c) 31 March 2011; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 5 December 2011
	Available data on police officer strength for the Metropolitan police force by basic command unit, as at 31 March 2010 and 31 March 2011, are given in the following table.
	Information on police officer strength relating to 30 September 2010 is not available centrally.
	The latest published police personnel statistics relate to 31 March 2011 and were published in July 2011. They are available online at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
	
		
			 Police officer strength (1)  by basic command unit (BCU), Metropolitan police, as at 31 March 2010 and 2011 
			 BCU 31 March 2010 31 March 2011 
			 Barking and Dagenham 448 443 
			 Barnet 596 585 
			 Bexley 406 400 
			 Brent 712 682 
			 Bromley 524 511 
			 Camden 889 831 
			 City of Westminster 1,656 1,586 
			 Croydon 755 736 
			 Ealing 728 697 
			 Enfield 601 580 
			 Greenwich 711 669 
			 Hackney 784 771 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 600 574 
			 Haringey 734 708 
			 Harrow 404 392 
			 Havering 395 387 
			 Hillingdon 526 540 
			 Hounslow 540 522 
			 Islington 719 713 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 579 565 
			 Kingston upon Thames 337 321 
			 Lambeth 1,042 1,004 
			 Lewisham 691 657 
			 Merton 396 392 
			 Newham 826 805 
			 Redbridge 502 486 
			 Richmond upon Thames 335 307 
			 Southwark 964 933 
			 Sutton 356 344 
			 Tower Hamlets 829 793 
			 Waltham Forest 578 556 
			 Wandsworth 619 608 
			 Heathrow 461 435 
			 Central Services 12,126 11,907 
			 (1) These are full-time equivalents figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Figures include those officers on career breaks.

Police: Bournemouth

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) special constables and (b) community support officers are operating in Bournemouth.

Nick Herbert: The latest available information shows that there were 79 community support officers in post on 31 March 2010 in the Bournemouth and Poole basic command unit (BCU). This is a full-time equivalent figure that has been rounded to the nearest whole number; it includes those community support officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Figures for special constables are not available centrally for this BCU.
	Dorset police force was restructured and BCUs were redefined during 2010-11 and, as a result, data for Bournemouth and Poole are not available for 31 March 2011.

Police: Crimes of Violence

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been stabbed during the course of their duties in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: The requested information is not collected centrally by the Home Office.

Police: South Wales

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many police officers were employed by South Wales Police in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of police to be employed by South Wales Police in each of the next five years.

Nick Herbert: It is a matter for the chief constable and the police authority in each force to determine the number of police officers that are deployed within the available resource.
	The latest available information shows the number of police officers in South Wales police force between 2007 and 2011 (full-time equivalent) is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of police officers in South Wales police force between 2007 and 2011 (1) 
			 As at 31 March  each year Number 
			 2007 3,336 
			 2008 3,244 
			 2009 3,146 
			 2010 3,148 
			 2011 3,100 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Police: Surveillance

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will collect information on the deployment of undercover officers by police forces in England and Wales over the last 10 years.

Nick Herbert: The decision on whether to deploy covert undercover officers is an operational matter for individual law enforcement agencies. The chief surveillance commissioner has the statutory responsibility for the oversight of whether police use of this technique is in accordance with the law. His key findings and broad statistics are published in annual reports which are laid before Parliament and are available in the House Library.

Stalking: Homicide

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases which included a stalking-related murder have been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission since 2009.

Nick Herbert: This is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). However, it does not hold the specific data requested.
	The IPCC is responsible for the annual publication of statistics relating to deaths during or following police contact. The most recent report is available on the IPCC website at:
	www.ipcc.gov.uk

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the decision to reallocate the fund which had been earmarked for the carbon capture and storage competition.

Charles Hendry: My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have discussed financing of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects and £l billion remains available. The detailed profile of spend will be determined by the projects selected and when they require funding.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  when he was informed of the decision by HM Treasury to reallocate the fund earmarked for the carbon capture and storage competition;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the decision to reallocate the fund earmarked for the carbon capture and storage competition on the time taken to develop a demonstrator project.

Charles Hendry: £1 billion remains available to support CCS projects. I expect CCS projects to come forward in this spending review period and for some expenditure to be committed as part of that process. The detailed profile of spend will be determined by the projects selected and when they require funding.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with representatives of industry involved in development of carbon capture and storage projects on the availability and timetable for a competition supporting a demonstration project.

Charles Hendry: My colleagues and I, at ministerial and official level, meet regularly with industry representatives to discuss the CCS demonstration programme.
	On 16 December we are holding an industry day to provide further information on the CCS programme, to which this Government have already committed £1 billion of capital funding. Sponsors and developers of proposed CCS projects, power generators, CO2 transport infrastructure providers, oil and gas field operators and independent operators, and CO2 capture technology providers are invited to contact the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage if they wish to attend.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether any of the resources reallocated from the carbon capture and storage competition fund will be directed to low-carbon projects.

Charles Hendry: The £1 billion allocated for CCS projects remains available to support CCS projects.

Climate Change: Africa

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of his recently announced funding to tackle climate change in Africa he proposes will come from (a) the Department for International Development and (b) existing funding allocated as official development assistance.

Gregory Barker: I will be announcing a package of support to help Africa adapt to the impacts of climate change and move to low carbon development paths in Durban on 6 December. The package is funded out of the UK's £2.9 billion International Climate Fund, which was announced in the 2010 spending review and is all classified as official development assistance. The fund consists of £1.8 billion from the Department for International Development, £1 billion from the Department of Energy and Climate Change and £0.1 billion from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

Climate Change: Africa

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of his recently announced funding for climate change finance in Africa (a) has already been committed and (b) is new funding commitments.

Gregory Barker: I will be announcing a package of support to help Africa adapt to the impacts of climate change and move to low carbon development paths in Durban on 6 December. The package is all funded out of an existing funding commitment—the UK's £2.9 billion International Climate Fund, which was announced in the 2010 spending review.

Climate Change: Africa

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change through which (a) Departments, (b) funds and (c) programmes he proposes that his recently announced funding to tackle climate change in Africa will be delivered.

Gregory Barker: I will announce the full details of the package of support to help Africa adapt to the impacts of climate change and move to low carbon development paths in Durban on 6 December. The package is funded out of the UK's £2.9 billion International Climate Fund and will be drawn from the budgets of the Department for International Development and the Department of Energy and Climate Change through the UK's International Climate Fund.

Climate Change: Africa

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the recently announced aid funding to tackle climate change in Africa is additional to the funding already (a) committed as fast-start funding and (b) announced for climate change by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for International Development.

Gregory Barker: I will announce the full details of the package of support to help Africa adapt to the impacts of climate change and move to low carbon development paths in Durban on 6 December. The package is funded out of the UK's £2.9 billion International Climate Fund, which was announced in the 2010 spending review.

Climate Change: Africa

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his recent announcement of climate change funding for Africa, from which Departments' budgets he proposes such funding will be drawn.

Gregory Barker: I will be announcing a package of support to help Africa adapt to the impacts of climate change and move to low carbon development paths in Durban on 6 December. The funding will be drawn from the budgets of the Department for International Development and the Department of Energy and Climate Change through the UK's International Climate Fund.

Diesel Fuel: Prices

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received on (a) diesel pump prices in England and (b) how such prices compare with those in other European countries; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Department has received a number of representations on diesel prices and how pump prices compared with those in other European countries.
	UK pre-tax petrol and diesel prices are among the lowest in Europe.
	The Government are aware of the significant impacts high oil prices are having on consumers, which is why the autumn statement document announced that the fuel duty increase of 3.02p/l that was expected to take place in January 2012 has been deferred to August 2012. In addition, the 2011-12 inflation only increase in fuel duty that was planned for August 2012 has been cancelled.

Energy: Meters

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how his Department proposes to take account of consumers’ experience of the installation of smart meters when developing the smart metering installation code of practice;
	(2)  if he proposes that the smart metering installation code of practice will include measures to prevent doorstep selling of utilities during the installation of smart meters.

Charles Hendry: Electricity and gas suppliers have developed a draft smart metering installation code of practice, which they published for consultation in August 2011. They are now considering responses. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has consulted on the draft licence conditions that will formally underpin an industry code. These draft conditions include rules on sales of goods and services during the smart meter installation visit and arrangements for updating a code in the light of, among other things, consumer experience during the roll-out. We will publish our response in the new year.

Energy: Meters

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to expand the energy grid network to ensure people in rural areas who do not receive gas from the grid are able to participate in the smart meter roll out.

Charles Hendry: Customers who receive only electricity from the energy grid network will be offered an electricity smart meter and in-home display by their energy supplier, and so will be able to participate in, and benefit from, the smart meter roll-out.
	Ofgem is responsible for regulating the extension of the gas grid and has encouraged the larger gas distribution networks to extend the grid to fuel poor households and homes within the priority group for the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target. In total up to 20,000 households could be connected under this scheme over the current price control period (2008-13).

Fuel Poverty

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely level of support for energy efficiency programmes for households in fuel poverty from 2013 onwards.

Gregory Barker: Government are currently consulting on the Green Deal framework which will be in place from late 2012 and will enable households to access energy efficiency improvements at no upfront cost. This includes a new Energy Company Obligation (ECO), worth £1.3 billion per year, providing extra support where it is most needed.
	Under the ECO 'Affordable Warmth obligation', we expect energy suppliers to invest around £350 million per year in providing heating and insulation measures for vulnerable households on low incomes at greatest risk of fuel poverty. We anticipate that the rest of ECO will support energy efficiency improvements in more difficult and expensive to treat properties, whatever the income or circumstances of the householder, through a 'Carbon Reduction obligation'. We are consulting specifically on expected models for “roll-out”, to ensure all households stand to benefit, including those in the poorest communities.

Fuel Poverty: Winter Deaths

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of (a) men and (b) women over the age of 65 years who have died as a result of being unable to heat their home due to fuel poverty; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Gregory Barker: The specific data requested are not recorded.
	However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) measures the number of excess winter deaths each year. During the 2010-11 winter, of the 25,700 excess winter deaths recorded by ONS in England and Wales, around 8,800 were recorded among men aged 65 and over, with around 12,900 recorded among women aged 65 and over.

Fuel Poverty: North York Moors

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in the North York Moors National Park.

Gregory Barker: DECC do not calculate fuel poverty at this geographical level. The estimated number of fuel poor households in 2009 in local authorities which broadly cover the National Park are as follows:
	Redcar and Cleveland: 14,800 households (25% of households in Redcar and Cleveland)
	Scarborough: 13,200 households (26%)
	Ryedale: 6,500 households (28%).

Inverkip Power Station

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the capacity and total output from Inverkip power station was during its lifetime; and what were the costs per MWh of this output.

Charles Hendry: DECC does not hold data on the capacity, output or costs per MWh of output of Inverkip power station. However, a Scottish Power (the owners of Inverkip) press release on the redevelopment of the site states the capacity was 2,028 MW:
	http://www.scottishpower.com/PressReleases_1891.htm

Nuclear Power

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the European Commission on allowing nuclear power to be recognised as a renewable source of energy; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Government believe that nuclear power is an important low carbon source of energy and should be a part of the UK's future energy mix, but accept that nuclear power should be considered as a low carbon rather than a renewable source of energy. Therefore, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), has had no discussions with the European Commission on allowing nuclear power to be recognised as a renewable source of energy. The UK's vision for a low carbon future sees a diverse mix of low carbon energy sources contributing to our power supply including both renewables and nuclear power.

Oil: Canada

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the quantity of oil used in the UK which is derived from Canadian tar sands.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 5 December 2011
	Trade data on the amount of oil that is derived from tar sands are not collected in National or International Statistics.
	In 2010, the UK imported 272,000 tonnes of crude oil from Canada, and one tonne of petroleum products. In total, these imports account for 0.4% of the oil imported into the UK.

Solar Power

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has made an assessment of any change in household energy consumption following the installation of solar photovoltaic systems.

Gregory Barker: We have no robust quantitative evidence from the FITs scheme to date about behavioural change in households that install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether (a) individual solar photovoltaic installations and (b) community-owned solar photovoltaic schemes will be eligible to receive support through the proposed feed-in tariff with contract for difference.

Gregory Barker: Eligible individual and community-owned renewable electricity generating schemes below 50 kW can currently receive the small scale feed-in tariff, while those between 50 kW and 5 MW are able to choose support under either the small scale feed-in tariff or the renewables obligation. Work is currently under way to determine the appropriate eligibility criteria for the feed-in tariff with Contract for Difference scheme and how it should interact with other support mechanisms. Further details will be published in quarter 1 next year.

Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the operation of (a) section 1 and (b) section 2 of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 since July 2010; what representations he has received since that month on the operation of the Act; and what responses he gave to such representations. [R]

Gregory Barker: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Government announced a review of the definition of fuel poverty at the spending review in October 2010. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change appointed Professor Hills to carry out a review of the current definition of fuel poverty (as set out in section 1 of the Act and under the strategy required in section 2) in March 2011.
	Professor Hills ran a call for evidence on the definition that received views from a variety of stakeholders including Fuel Poverty Advisory Group and the All Party Parliamentary Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency Group.
	Professor Hills published his interim report in October 2011. The final report is due to be presented to Government in early 2012, when we will respond formally.

World War II: Medals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to encourage former Bevin Boys to apply for the Bevin Boys Veterans Badge.

Charles Hendry: To date, the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA), acting on behalf of DECC, have issued just under 5,000 Bevin Boys Veterans Badges to former Bevin Boys and their widows, where their husbands passed away after the Badge was announced on 20 June 2007.
	At the time the Badge was announced and when the first Badges were issued in March 2008 there was significant publicity both nationally and regionally by DECC and the Bevin Boys Association. Subsequently many local councils have carried out regional advertising campaigns to encourage all former veterans, including the Bevin Boys, to apply for Badges as part of their Veterans Day celebrations.
	Full details of the Badge, the eligibility criteria and the application process appear on both the DECC and SPVA website.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Business: Government Assistance

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available from Jobcentre Plus for people wishing to start their own business who are in receipt of employment and support allowance in (a) Merseyside and (b) the UK.

Chris Grayling: While people on employment and support allowance (ESA) are not eligible for the new enterprise allowance, Jobcentre Plus advisers can signpost claimants who are interested in self-employment to other sources of support such as Enterprise Clubs, where available, and on-line support for new businesses, including mentoring. ESA claimants can also access the Work Programme at a time that is right for them, where providers are free to deliver the right support for the individual.
	People on ESA with more complex support needs that cannot be met through other employment support provision have access, via their disability employment adviser, to Work Choice which can provide the right support to help them find work or self-employment.

Child Support Agency: Prosecutions

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to widening the powers of the Child Support Agency to allow it to prosecute for non-payment of regular maintenance.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the child maintenance commissioner to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration he has given to widening the powers of the Child Support Agency to allow it to prosecute for non-payment of regular maintenance.
	The Child Support Agency already has a wide range of enforcement powers for the purposes of securing child maintenance from non-resident parents, who would otherwise fail to pay. Money can be taken directly from a non-resident parent’s earnings if the non-resident parent is employed, money can be taken directly from a non-resident parent’s bank or building society account, or action can be taken through the courts.
	The most serious forms of enforcement are commitment to prison or disqualification from driving. The decision whether to implement, and the length of the order, is at the discretion of a Magistrates’ Court (or Sheriff in Scotland) where they are satisfied that a non-resident parent has “wilfully refused or culpably neglected” to pay child maintenance—but this is not a criminal sanction.
	There are no plans at present to widen the enforcement powers of the Child Support Agency.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Construction: Employment

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of jobs lost in the construction industry from sub-contracting businesses in each of the last three years.

Mark Prisk: I have been asked to reply.
	The information is not collected in the form requested. However, the change in construction employment in each of the last three years for which information is available is shown in the following table. The table covers all constructing firms, both main contractors and subcontractors.
	
		
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Jobs (thousand)     
			 Workforce jobs 2,304 2,240 2,158 2,093 
			 Employee jobs 1,361 1,363 1,281 1,231 
			 Self-employed jobs 933 874 872 858 
			      
			 Change (thousand)     
			 Workforce jobs — -64 -82 -65 
			 Employee jobs — 2 -82 -50 
			 Self-employed jobs — -59 -2 -14 
			      
			 Change (percentage)     
			 Workforce jobs — -2.8 -3.7 -3.0 
			 Employee jobs — 0.1 -6.0 -3.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Self-employed jobs — -6.3 -0.2 -1.6 
			 Source: ONS, Workforce Jobs series, United Kingdom

Advisory Services

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contribution his Department has made to the cross-Government review of advice funding announced in July 2011.

Chris Grayling: DWP officials met with Cabinet Office officials to discuss the review of advice funding, in order to outline the range and scope of advisory and referral services that the Department provides.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that the same standards of animal welfare for whole eggs apply to imported liquefied eggs procured by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) occupies the majority of its accommodation under a private finance initiative (PFI) known as the Prime contract. Under the terms of this PFI the Department leases back fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner, Telereal Trillium. This covers a variety of facilities including, where appropriate, the provision of catering services which is delivered through Telereal Trillium's service partner, Compass Group UK. Compass undertakes all catering activity including food procurement. Compass has confirmed that all the liquid egg supplied on the DWP catering contract is sourced from hens from an enriched cage system.
	In line with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs guidance, DWP reports on how the Government Buying Standards criteria are being met. One of the criterion that will feature in future reports is around how eggs are sourced. This report will feature in periodic updates on the DWP public website—the following link gives the latest details:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/gbs-food-catering.pdf
	This link advises on DWP's commitment and that we are working closely with Telereal Trillium/Compass to maximize compliance with this commitment. For example, ensuring this subject features in regular meetings/discussions with Telereal Trillium/Compass and receiving updates/progress on compliance. In addition, Compass regularly meets with Telereal Trillium encouraging initiatives to promote local food producers.
	(b) Non-departmental public bodies that share accommodation with the DWP on Prime contract sites are included in the response at (a) above. Of the remaining non-departmental public bodies which have catering facilities and are not covered by the Prime contract, the Independent Living Fund (2006), Remploy and The Pensions Advisory Service have confirmed that they do not procure whole or liquefied eggs. The Health and Safety Executive only use fresh eggs all of which are sourced in the UK.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of food sourced by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible was procured from UK food producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) occupies the majority of its accommodation under a private finance initiative (PFI) known as the Prime contract. Under the terms of this PFI the Department leases back fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner, Telereal Trillium. This covers a variety of facilities including, where appropriate, the provision of catering services which is delivered through Telereal Trillium's service partner, Compass Group UK. Compass undertakes all catering activity including food procurement.
	Compass has confirmed that between April and November 2011 the percentage of food procured from UK food producers is 24%. With regard to the sourcing from UK producers, Compass’ figures have been determined as follows: they have defined UK as guaranteed UK provenance which can be fully traced back to the source, i.e. food that has been grown and harvested or born, bred and slaughtered in the UK. Therefore, they have not included any products that even though may have been produced or manufactured in the UK, are of mixed origin. In addition Compass has confirmed the following:
	100% of fresh beef is UK sourced
	100% of fresh pork joints is UK sourced
	100% of fresh milk is both UK sourced and Red Tractor
	100% of shell eggs are UK sourced and Lion marked
	All potatoes and root vegetables are sourced from UK when in season.
	(b) Non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) that share accommodation with the DWP on Prime contract sites are included in the response at (a) above. For those NDPBs not covered by the Prime contract, none directly source food, e.g. The Pension Advisory Service and the Independent Living Fund (ILF) only occasionally buy food and snacks on an ad hoc basis in small quantities from local food retailers and as such unable to verify the source of food producers. Given the low expenditure, e.g. ILF spent £1,400 in the last calendar year, it would seem disproportionate for local caterers to provide this information to these NDPBs. Remploy has indicated that for their multiple sites their canteens are operated by local third-party organisations. The Health and Safety Executive's HQ at Bootle has a similar PFI contract to DWP, covering accommodation and all services. HSE has no direct management responsibility for the caterers and the contract does not specify how supplies should be sourced. The supplier, Baxter Storey, sources their catering supplies from Brake Bros whenever possible; however they cannot assess what proportion of supplies is sourced at home or abroad.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible are taking to ensure that they meet the Government’s buying standards for food and catering.

Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
	(a) Since 1998, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) occupies the majority of its accommodation under a private finance initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME contract. Under the terms of this PFI, the Department leases back fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium. This covers a variety of facilities including, where appropriate, the provision of catering services which is delivered through Telereal Trillium’s service partner Compass Group UK. Compass undertakes all catering activity including food procurement.
	In line with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs guidance, DWP reports on how the Government Buying Standards criteria are being met. This will feature in periodic updates on the DWP public website—the following link gives the latest details:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/gbs-food-catering.pdf
	This link advises on DWP’s commitment and that we are working closely with Telereal Trillium/Compass to maximise compliance with this commitment. For example, ensuring this subject features in regular meetings/discussions with Telereal Trillium/Compass and receiving updates/progress on compliance. In addition, Compass regularly meets with Telereal Trillium encouraging initiatives to promote local food producers. Regular promotions are delivered throughout sites such as vegetarian week, British sandwich week, Apple day, all of which support local producers.
	Compass/Telereal Trillium actively encourage the sourcing of local produce. Compass maintain over 600 producers throughout the UK, actively encouraging the sale of local breads, eggs, vegetables and meats where possible. 38% of produce sourced for the DWP contract is produced by SME’s. Recent promotional activities have included:
	Introduction of the Chunky Farmer Sandwich Bloomer August 2011
	Best of British Food Month June 2011
	Promotions on locally produced yoghurts—ongoing
	Eat Well Live Well fruit and vegetable promotion July 2011
	Best Bramley Food Service Product award won by Compass in June 2011 for the Apple Crumble Slice which is sold across the DWP estate
	Support of British Fruit Orchards—ongoing
	British sandwich week—May 2011 focused on locally produced breads.
	(b) Non-departmental public bodies that share accommodation with DWP on PRIME contract sites are included in the response at (a) above. For those NDPBs not covered by the PRIME contract, none directly source food, e.g. the Pension Advisory Service and the independent living fund (ILF) only occasionally buy food and snacks on an ad hoc basis in small quantities from local food retailers and as such unable to verify the source of food producers. Remploy no longer has a catering business. Their canteens are operated by local third party organisations and there is no central purchasing by the company of food or food materials. All non-departmental public bodies are aware of the Government Buying Standards.

Departmental Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: At the end of the last financial year, there were in the region of 122,000 civil servants in DWP and its bodies. Of these, 761 earned more than £65,000, 87 of whom earned more than £95,000, nine of whom earned more than £140,000, six of whom earned more than £175,000. Since the end of the financial year, we have made reductions in the size of the senior civil service and reduced the number in each of the two highest categories by one.
	Information about senior salaries can be found on the data.gov.uk website at:
	http://data.gov.uk/organogram

Social Exclusion

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department plans to take together with (a) the Minister for Women and Equalities, (b) the Department for Education, (c) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (d) the Department of Health to tackle social exclusion.

Chris Grayling: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions chairs the Social Justice Cabinet Committee, of which my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, the Secretaries of State for Education and for Communities and Local Government, and the Under-Secretary for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton), are members.
	The Committee exists to consider issues relating to poverty, equality and social justice, and facilitates cross-Government working and scrutiny of policies for their effects on some of the most disadvantaged groups on society.

Employment and Support Allowance

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received overpayments of employment and support allowance in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in each year since 2008; and what average amount each was asked to repay in each such year.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available as the Department does not record cases in the format that would enable us to report against their location. We can provide volumes for the whole country with an average. The information is in the following table:
	
		
			  Volume (k) Average value (£) 
			 2008-09(1) 3,329 57.19 
			 2009-10 120,521 139.18 
			 2010-11 233,481 202.71 
			 (1) ESA commenced 27 October 2008. Source: Debt Accounting. This does not form official statistics but is derived from management information.

Employment Schemes: Compensation

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his Department calculates the amount of compensation due to employment agencies that have recorded losses due to the switch from the Flexible New Deal to the Work programme.

Chris Grayling: Negotiations to agree settlements in closing Flexible New Deal Phase 1 contracts are currently in train and are commercial in confidence. It would therefore be prejudicial to DWP's remaining active negotiations to release this information at this time.

Employment Schemes: Third Sector

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Work programme on the likelihood of third sector employment agencies being able to take part in future contacts.

Chris Grayling: DWP's delivery partners are expected to be able to demonstrate the capital strength to take on the risks inherent in an exclusively or heavily outcome-based approach. Smaller voluntary and community organisations were unable to demonstrate the capacity, especially the financial capacity, for selection onto the Employment Related Support Services (ERSS) Framework, from which future contracts will be delivered. However, many voluntary and community sector organisations are involved as subcontractors or work on a call-off basis delivering personalised and tailored employment services via a prime contractor.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Services

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to discontinue premium rate telephone numbers for people calling jobcentres.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not use any premium rate telephone numbers.
	The Department's policy is that all calls should be free to our 0800 numbers to claim:
	state pension;
	pension credit;
	jobseeker’s allowance;
	employment support allowance; and
	emergency payments or crisis loans.
	It is free to call DWP 0800 numbers from BT landlines. DWP has secured agreements to ensure that it is free to call via nine of the UK's largest mobile phone operators, representing 95% of the mobile market.
	For other services, including calling local Jobcentres, 0845 numbers are used. This is because they are for inquiries that typically take less time to resolve. DWP strive to achieve the right balance between meeting customer needs and using taxpayers' money effectively. These calls are charged at variable rates determined by landline and mobile phone providers. DWP has retained geographical telephone numbers for personal advisers in Jobcentres, which means that claimants can contact their adviser directly when necessary. The Department appreciates the financial hardship that this can cause some people and so, if a customer raises a concern over the cost of the call or asks, we will offer to call them back.
	The Department is currently reviewing its telephony numbering policy in conjunction with Ofcom. This includes the use of 0845 telephone numbers.

Pensions

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage increase will be in additional pension as a result of SERPS contributions from April 2012.

Steve Webb: As announced in the Uprating Statement today, SERPS pensions will rise in April 2012 by 5.2%.

Social Justice Committee

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many meetings of the Social Justice Committee he has attended since its establishment.

Chris Grayling: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, is the Chair of the Social Justice Cabinet Committee. It is however longstanding Government practice not to disclose information relating to ministerial meetings, including the proceedings of Cabinet and Cabinet committees, as to do so would put at risk the public interest in the full and frank discussion of policy by Ministers.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants who have participated in work capability assessments since February 2011 resulting in a recommendation by Atos of receipt of employment and support allowance in the support group his Department has subsequently decided should (a) receive employment and support allowance in the support group, (b) receive employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group and (c) not receive employment and support allowance.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available. Information on the number of work capability assessments (WCAs) completed for incapacity benefits claimants can be provided using the Department's management information system, but to know the outcomes of the WCAs and the variation from the Atos recommendation requires individual level data.
	Due to the overall length of the incapacity benefits reassessment process, information on the entire process including the final outcomes and subsequent destinations of claimants being reassessed is not yet available. Individual level data are being collected, but it will take time to complete because of the overall length of the reassessment process. The Department plans to publish data on the outcomes of the reassessment process, but only once they have been quality assured and are considered robust.

Social Security Benefits: Gurkhas

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the retired Gurkhas and their dependents that have settled in (a) Maidenhead, (b) Aldershot, (c) Reading and (d) Folkestone since 2009 have received (i) housing benefit, (ii) state pensions and tax credits and (iii) council tax benefit.

Chris Grayling: The information you have requested is not available. The UK's benefit payment systems do not record whether or not individuals in receipt of benefits are retired Gurkhas.

Unemployment: Ex-servicemen

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many armed forces veterans were (a) economically inactive and (b) long-term unemployed in each year since 2005-06;
	(2)  whether his Department has estimated the number of armed forces veterans who will be (a) economically inactive and (b) long-term unemployed in each year to 2015-16.
	(3)  what information his Department holds on the number of unemployed armed forces veterans in each English region.

Maria Miller: The Department for Work and Pensions does not routinely record whether benefit claimants are former armed forces personnel. Also, the Labour Force Survey does not record whether respondents are former armed forces personnel.
	We are looking into ways of improving knowledge on the employment and benefit outcomes of ex-service personnel.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date the integrated assurance and approvals plan for universal credit was presented to the programme board; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Chris Grayling: The integrated assurance and approvals plan was presented to the Universal Credit Programme Board on 21 March 2011. The Programme Board signed-off the plan.
	Government are currently considering how to drive greater transparency in project reporting through their policy on the publication of project and programme data. Key milestones, and other project-related information typically included in an IAAP, will form part of those policy considerations. DWP is party to those considerations and will align its reporting of all projects with the transparency policy once it is agreed.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the funding allocated to universal credit implementation will be spent on staff training.

Chris Grayling: The 2010 spending review settlement included funding of £2 billion for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15. This is intended to meet all the costs of introducing universal credit including any increases in benefit expenditure, additional benefit administration costs in the transition period, the costs of IT development and implementation, communications, staff training and programme management. Detailed commitments will be developed alongside programme plans.

Welfare to Work

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of the upfront investment from private and voluntary bodies to his welfare to work programme came from private sector businesses; and if he will provide a breakdown of such investment.

Chris Grayling: During the bidding process for the Work programme, the 18 preferred bidders indicated they planned to invest up to £580 million over the lifetime of the contracts.
	A breakdown by sector is not available.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were exempted from a work capability assessment on the grounds that they were receiving intravenous chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment for cancer in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The exact information requested is not available as the Department's administrative data do not record the detail of the treatment being received by the claimant. However, the Department regularly publishes official statistics on employment and support allowance (ESA) and the work capability assessment (WCA). The latest report was published in October 2011 and can be found on the internet at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca
	Table 7 of the publication shows the results of initial assessment by condition group for claims started between October 2008 and February 2011. This shows that for all new claims to ESA with the primary condition in the 'neoplasms' group (the World Health Organisation classification of disease group for cancer), 13% were assessed to be fit for work, 14% were assessed to be in the work-related activity group, 52% were assessed to be in the support group and remainder were awaiting or closed their claim before completing the assessment.
	Table 5 of the publication shows the number of claimants assessed to be in the support group at initial assessment by reason for claims started between October 2008 and February 2011. This shows that there were 16,400 claimants assessed to be in the support group because they were assessed as awaiting, receiving or recovering from intravenous, intraperitoneal or intrathecal chemotherapy. This is 15% of all those assessed to be in the support group at initial assessment.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: The most recent figures are 48 (full-time equivalents) communications staff in the Department for International Development. This can be broken down as follows:
	(a) 11 press officers
	(b) Five internal communications officers
	(c) 0 external communications officers
	(d) 17 strategic communications officers
	(e) Nine digital (web content) and six communications officers overseas.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by third parties.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) has hosted or co-hosted 15 events and receptions since May 2010. Contacting country offices for details of their events and receptions would incur disproportionate cost, so this list includes events and receptions organised by DFID's UK headquarters only. All events and receptions are carried out at minimal cost to the Department by collaborating with partners and making use of free venues where possible.
	
		
			 Date Event 
			 2010  
			 21 to 22 June Hosted: Politics of Poverty event. Sunningdale. 
			 8 July Hosted: Launch of Development Assistance Committee peer review of DFID. Palace St. 
			 22 September Co-hosted: High level event on Malaria. UN MDGs summit. New York. 
			 6 December Co-hosted: EU conference on international development. 
			   
			 2011  
			 29 March Co-hosted: Afghanistan stakeholder event, with Baroness Northover. British Museum. 
			 7 June Hosted: DFID alumni annual event. Palace St. 
			 8 June Hosted: Secretary of State one year on speech. Royal College of Pathologists. 
			 12 June Co-hosted: GAVI reception. Central London. 
		
	
	
		
			 13 June Co-hosted: GAVI pledging conference with Gates Foundation and Government of Liberia. Central London. 
			 20 to 22 July Co-hosted: Annual Tidewater meeting. Wilton Park. 
			 4 to 5 August Hosted: Gulf donors meeting. Lancaster House. 
			 11 July Hosted: Secretary of State speech on business in Africa. London Business School. 
			 21 September Co-hosted: MDG Countdown event. UN General Assembly. 
			 9 November Hosted: Secretary of State Beyond Aid speech. Wellcome Trust. 
			 24 November Hosted: 30th Anniversary event for DFID's Scottish HQ. Abercrombie House.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether any senior staff in his Department are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

Stephen O'Brien: No senior members of staff working for the Department for International Development (DFID) are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of salary. DFID does not have a policy on such payments.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Alan Duncan: Information in relation to the outsourcing of goods and equipment is on the external Department for International Development (DFID) website:
	www.dfid.gov.uk
	as are the details of the competitively let frameworks and the associated contract details of Crown Agents, Charles Kendall and International Procurement Agency. Most recently these were let in 2009 and run until February 2013.
	DFID outsource their travel management requirements with Hogg Robinson Group (HRG). All UK generated travel requirements such as air, rail and hotels are booked by HRG. Value for money is achieved through HRG providing “best fare on the day”. DFID are also rolling out this contract to overseas offices and migration is expected to be by June 2013. DFID will then transfer onto the new central Government contract which is currently being procured for all central Government Departments. The contract which is a call-down from the Buying Solutions framework commenced in July 2009 and expires in June 2013.
	DFID outsource their facilities management requirements to MITIE Technical Facilities Management Ltd for the provision of Total Facilities Management in the UK. We have also outsourced a small number of information technology functions.
	DFID humanitarian operations and support services are outsourced to Crown Agents under the Conflict Humanitarian and Security Department (CHASE OT outsourced contract). The contract duration is five years (2005-11).

Developing Countries: Malaria

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of rapid detection tests on the treatment of malaria.

Stephen O'Brien: More accurate diagnosis can improve outcomes for malaria and other diseases, including major causes of child deaths, such as pneumonia. Therefore, World Health Organisation malaria treatment guidelines now recommend universal diagnostic confirmation of suspected cases of malaria.
	Low cost and accurate rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are now available for use at the point of care. However, their influence on subsequent clinical practice has been variable in different settings and with different providers, and adherence to test results is still an issue in countries where RDTs have been scaled up. But there is growing evidence to show that RDTs can be used for effective case management when supported by training, supervision and the availability and use of quality assured malaria medicines, and options for treating or referring non-malaria cases.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department allocated to malaria diagnosis through rapid detection tests in each of the last five years; and what funding he has allocated for each of the next five years.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development does not track inputs, allocations and expenditure according to the category requested. The UK's codes are based on the OECD Development Assistance Committee codes which are used for reporting ODA and, as a DAC member, the UK is committed to transparent reporting of development assistance in a way that permits international comparisons.
	Addressing malaria is one of the main priorities of the UK Government. We are committed to helping halve malaria deaths in at least 10 of the worst affected countries by 2015. And we will support action to sustain and expand gains into the future. The UK will invest up to £500 million each year by 2014-15 to support this goal where results can be delivered and value for money demonstrated.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of malaria diagnosis through rapid detection tests on the tracking and mapping of malaria.

Stephen O'Brien: The increased use of diagnostic testing can support more accurate reporting on malaria. Initially, it is likely to lead to a significant decrease in the number of reported cases in many countries, as rates of misdiagnosis decrease. Data collection and monitoring systems also need to be strengthened.
	The combination of increased use of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria and improved data monitoring contributes to more effective and cost-efficient planning and delivery of malaria services. This, in turn, helps address the health needs of people who would otherwise be misdiagnosed.

Developing Countries: Malnutrition

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of child malnutrition in fragile states.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) recently published the paper ‘Scaling Up Nutrition: the UK's position paper on undernutrition', which states that, between 2011 and 2015, its nutrition-related programmes (in addition to humanitarian assistance) will reach 20 million children under the age of five, 10 million of whom are in fragile countries. For example, in five states in northern Nigeria, the UK is developing a six-year programme that will reach 6.2 million children through the expansion of services for the community management of acute under-nutrition, providing essential vitamin and minerals supplementation and helping to promote exclusive breastfeeding.
	Tackling acute child under-nutrition remains a strong focus of the UK's humanitarian response. The UK is increasing its support to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to scale up and sustain coverage of its young child feeding, provision of micronutrients and nutrition security in emergencies and protracted crises. In Yemen the UK is delivering humanitarian assistance through a variety of agencies including UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross and a consortium of non-governmental organisations including Oxfam, Save the Children, CARE and Islamic Relief. This is already helping to treat over 80,000 malnourished children under the age of five and screen 1.1 million more. Where possible DFID will use its nutrition programmes to build longer-term capacity to respond to nutrition crises through multi-year funding.

EU Aid: Family Planning

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will discuss with his EU counterparts (a) global interests in stabilising population levels and (b) increasing EU aid for family planning.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government are working closely with others, including the EU, to advance a comprehensive understanding of the role of population dynamics (specifically the demographic dividend associated with declining fertility) in helping achieve increased economic productivity and rising per capita income in developing economies. A major cause of poverty and a contributor to rapid population growth is the lack of choice for women and girls over their own fertility. We know that 215 million women in the developing world, who would like to delay or avoid a pregnancy, do not have access to modern family planning methods.
	This is why the Government have recently announced additional support for contraceptive supplies to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to help prevent two million unintended pregnancies and avert nearly 220,000 unsafe abortions. In November 2010, the EU also pledged €23 million to UNFPA's Global Programme for Reproductive Health Commodity Security.

Overseas Aid: Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many education officers his Department employs.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development currently employs 34 education advisers. During 2012 this is likely to increase to 42 education advisers as the result of recent and ongoing recruitment. Education advisers work alongside programme management staff and advisers from other disciplines in the delivery of DFID's education programmes.

Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced People

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports he has received on the situation of internally displaced people in Sri Lanka.

Stephen O'Brien: DFID receives regular reports through the British High Commission in Colombo on the situation of internally displaced peoples in Sri Lanka. About 7,500 displaced people remain in camps in Sri Lanka, out of about 300,000 at the end of the conflict in 2009. They are receiving humanitarian assistance through a number of UN agencies.

World Bank

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the (a) World Bank's proposed new lending instrument set out in Operational Policy 9.00: Programme for Results heading and (b) proposal to remove application of World Bank social and environmental safeguard policies from financing under that instrument; and whether under that proposal there will be effective and appropriate use of the UK's contribution to the funding of the World Bank.

Andrew Mitchell: I consider Program-for-Results (P4R), the World Bank's proposed results-based lending instrument, to be an effective way of modernising the way the World Bank lends to developing countries. The results focus of the new lending instrument will encourage efficiency, sharpen the emphasis on impact and enable the bank to partner with others more effectively. This will help to ensure value for money from the UK's funding to the World Bank.
	The World Bank continues to update the proposal. We take social and environmental risks seriously and will consider these issues in detail when we receive the final proposal.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to provide (a) low cost housing for sale and (b) affordable rented housing in the next three years.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Homes Programme 2011-15 will deliver 80,000 new homes for Affordable Rent and Affordable Home Ownership with Government funding of just under £1.8 billion. Around 21% of these homes will be for Affordable Home Ownership.
	Overall, with our total investment of £4.5 billion we expect to provide up to 170,000 new affordable homes by 2015, compared to the 150,000 originally estimated.

Business

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if there are any regulations governing local authority subsidy of commercial businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: Authorities need to act within European Commission regulations on state aid. Other domestic regulations may be relevant such as the ones governing business rate reliefs.

Council Housing

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has made an estimate of the proportion of council houses which have been sold and are available to rent.

Andrew Stunell: Almost all council homes that have been sold will have been through the Right to Buy or through transfer to housing associations. The vast majority of homes disposed to registered housing associations will still be available for rent. We keep no record of the use made of homes sold to individuals, for example through the Right to Buy, or to other bodies.
	Statistics relating to the disposal of council housing can be found on the Department's website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/socialhousingsales/livetables/

Council Tax Benefits

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to announce whether the work associated with council tax discounts will be transferred to local authorities along with the council tax benefit scheme.

Bob Neill: The Government are proposing a number of technical reforms for council tax, which are currently subject to a public consultation exercise. We would expect any changes to be in force by April 2013.
	The separate consultation on localising council tax support, which is to replace council tax benefit, has now closed. Local schemes of support for council tax will be in place from April 2013.

Council Tax Benefits

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration he has given to delaying his planned introduction of local authority-based schemes for council tax benefit support to allow a greater period of time between the coming into force of secondary legislation and the date on which local authorities must issue invoices; and whether he has carried out a risk assessment in respect of his current planned timetable.

Bob Neill: My Department has no intention of delaying the planned introduction in April 2013.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that the same standards of animal welfare for whole eggs apply to imported liquefied eggs procured by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible.

Bob Neill: All eggs used by the Department for Communities and Local Government and its public bodies are Lion branded and sourced from enriched cages as a minimum standard.
	From 1 January 2012, all eggs and egg products will be sourced from enhanced conventional cages.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of food sourced by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible was procured from UK food producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government’s caterers procured 56% of food from UK food producers. The Department does not hold this information for its public bodies.
	The Department’s caterers are contracted to comply with Government buying standards for food with regard to food purchase and provision and we are working to increase the volume of food procured from the UK.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible are taking to ensure that they meet the Government’s buying standards for food and catering.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government’s and its public bodies’ caterers must comply with Government buying standards for food and catering.

Formula Grants

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what funding was allocated by his Department for (a) the formula grant and (b) specific grant funding for (i) Suffolk Coastal, (ii) Teignbridge, (iii) Breckland, (iv) Mid Sussex, (v) South Oxfordshire, (vi) South Cambridgeshire, (vii) East Lindsey, (viii) Isle of Wight and (ix) Wealden in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2011-12;
	(2)  what funding was allocated by his Department for (a) the formula grant and (b) specific grant funding for (i) Ipswich, (ii) Halton, (iii) Nuneaton and Bedworth, (iv) Slough, (v) Norwich, (vi) Thanet, (vii) Reigate and Banstead, (viii) Torbay, (ix) Windsor and Maidenhead, (x) Oxford, (xi) Canterbury and (xii) Blackburn and Darwen in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2011-12;
	(3)  what funding was allocated by his Department for (a) the formula grant and (b) specific grant funding for (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (ii) Preston, (iii) Middlesbrough, (iv) Poole, (v) Arun and (vi) Elmbridge in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2011-12;
	(4)  what per capita funding was allocated by his Department for (a) the formula grant and (b) specific grant funding for (i) Suffolk Coastal, (ii) Teignbridge, (iii) Breckland, (iv) Mid Sussex, (v) South Oxfordshire, (vi) South Cambridgeshire, (vii) East Lindsey, (viii) Isle of Wight and (ix) Wealdon in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2011-12;
	(5)  what per capita funding was allocated by his Department for (a) the formula grant and (b) specific grant funding for (i) Ipswich, (ii) Halton, (iii) Nuneaton and Bedworth, (iv) Slough, (v) Norwich, (vi) Thanet, (vii) Reigate and Banstead, (viii) Torbay, (ix) Windsor and Maidenhead, (x) Oxford, (xi) Canterbury and (xii) Blackburn with Darwen in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2011-12;
	(6)  what per capita funding was allocated by his Department for (a) the formula grant and (b) specific grant funding for (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (ii) Preston, (iii) Middlesbrough, (iv) Poole, (v) Arun and (vi) Elmbridge in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2011-12;
	(7)  what per capita funding was allocated by his Department for (a) the formula grant and (b) specific grant funding for (i) Eastleigh, (ii) Amber Valley, (iii) North Hertfordshire, (iv) Broadland, (v) Stafford, (vi) Epping Forest, (vii) Swale, (viii) Warwick, (ix) East Hertfordshire, (x) St Albans, (xi) Guildford, (xii) Cherwell, (xiii) Lancaster, (xiv) Dacorum, (xv) Maidstone and (xvi) Redcar and Cleveland in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2011-12;
	(8)  what per capita funding was allocated by his Department (a) for formula grant and (b) specific grant funding for financial years 2008-09 and 2011-12 for (i) Vale of White Horse, (ii) Waverley, (iii) Horsham, (iv) South Kesteven, (v) East Devon, (vi) Braintree, (vii) King's Lynn and West Norfolk and (viii) Tendring in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2011-12.

Bob Neill: holding answer 5 December 2011
	These data can be found online at:
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/ssas.htm
	Comparisons between years may not be valid due to varying functions and responsibilities of different tiers of local government.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has any plans to change the assessment for the Disability Facilities Grant.

Andrew Stunell: There are currently no plans to make changes to the way in which Disabled Facilities Grants are assessed. However, the recently published report by the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support recommends reviewing the operation and administration of the grant. The Government welcome this report and are reviewing the recommendations with the care sector. Following this engagement, we will publish a White Paper on social care reform in the spring next year, as well as a progress report on funding reform. By the end of the spending review period the national Disabled Facilities Grant budget will increase from £169 million in 2010-11 to £185 million in 2014-15.

Empty Property

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of empty properties in (a) the borough of Swindon and (b) England in each year since 2001.

Bob Neill: Details of the total number of empty dwellings in the borough of Swindon and England in each year since 2004 are shown in the following table. The figures include both long-term and short-term empty dwellings. Data prior to 2004 are not available.
	
		
			  Swindon England 
			 2004 1,768 710,935 
			 2005 2,374 723,509 
			 2006 1,877 744,931 
			 2007 1,723 763,319 
			 2008 1,714 783,119 
			 2009 1,928 770,661 
			 2010 1,897 737,491 
			 2011 1,832 720,328 
		
	
	The data are taken from the council tax base form completed annually in the autumn by all billing authorities in England and returned to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	This information is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1815793.xls

Empty Property

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which bodies are eligible to apply for funding from (a) his Department and (b) the Homes and Communities Agency to address the problem of empty homes.

Grant Shapps: £100 million has been made available within the Affordable Homes Programme to tackle long term empty homes. The Homes and Communities Agency issued bidding guidance on 21 November 2011 at
	www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/empty-homes
	which sets out how the funding available will be allocated either through the Homes and Communities Agency (or, from 1 April 2012, for London, the Greater London Authority) or through a national intermediary appointed via the Cabinet Office's Office for Civil Society Framework Agreement. The two funding routes ensure that both Registered Providers of Social Housing and smaller not-for-profit community and voluntary groups are able to apply.
	We have announced £50 million of additional funding to tackle some of the worst concentrations of empty homes. Tackling empty homes in these areas will require an intensive approach—refurbishing and reconfiguring homes, as well as improving the public realm and tackling wider issues in the local area. Further details will be announced shortly.

Empty Property: Worcestershire

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the number of empty homes in (a) Worcester constituency and (b) Worcestershire.

Bob Neill: Details of the number of empty dwellings in the six local authority areas that comprise Worcestershire, as at the beginning of October 2011, are shown in the following table. Data are not available at constituency level.
	
		
			  E mpty dwellings 
			  Long-term Short-term Total 
			 Bromsgrove 329 671 1,000 
			 Malvern Hills 456 663 1,119 
			 Redditch 268 590 858 
			 Worcester 428 833 1,261 
			 Wychavon 490 832 1,322 
			 Wyre Forest 504 919 1,423 
			 Total 2,475 4,508 6,983 
		
	
	This information was published on 16 November 2011 and is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/counciltaxbase2011
	The data are taken from the Council Tax Base form completed annually in the autumn by all billing authorities in England and returned to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

EU Grants and Loans: Yorkshire and the Humber

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure take-up of the European Regional Development Fund available to Yorkshire and the Humber.

Grant Shapps: The Yorkshire and the Humber European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness programme is worth around £500 million which aims to be fully invested by December 2013 and spent by mid 2015. Over £270 million has already been contracted to over 70 projects supporting innovation, research and development, enterprise, business support and community led regeneration. £100 million more is committed to projects that have not yet been contracted.
	Local partners in the Yorkshire and the Humber area are working hard to make sure this Development Fund investment is taken up. Local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and Universities are being brought together by the local DCLG European Regional Development Fund Team to develop firm proposals to take up the remaining funding and are being encouraged to take advantage of the Fund Technical Assistance funding to help build local capacity to develop and deliver eligible projects.
	Local Enterprise Partnerships have an important role in making sure that the European Regional Development Fund is aligned with local investment priorities. To this end we have revised the governance arrangements of the programme to ensure that these partnerships are represented on the Yorkshire and the Humber European Regional Development Fund Local Management Committee—the body responsible for the strategic management of the programme—and that Local Enterprise Partnerships are directly involved in the selection of projects for these funds.
	We are also working closely with other government departments to align the European Regional Development Fund with national investment such as that of the Department of Business Innovation and Skills on the UKTI and Business Coaching For Growth programme that will deliver support to businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber.
	We are also exploring how the Growing Places Fund can be used to get local Development Fund projects moving.
	I also refer the hon. Member to my Department's press notice of 1 August 2011, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, which outlines how the European Regional Development Fund has previously been plagued by a legacy of poor administration, and how this Government have overhauled the management of these schemes. As a result of these measures, the European Commission lifted an interruption on the programme which it had ordered. These steps will also protect taxpayers from the prospect of “financial corrections” being levied due to poor administration, as happened under the 2000-06 programme.

Green Belt

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures his Department has put in place to require local authorities to identify brownfield sites for development in preference to Green Belt development.

Bob Neill: In July 2011, we published a draft new National Planning Policy Framework for consultation. The draft Framework maintains strong protections for the Green Belt, and states that Green Belt boundaries should only be altered in exceptional circumstances. Our proposed abolition of the unpopular Regional Strategies through the Localism Act will also stop the top-down pressure to remove the Green Belt in 30 areas across England.
	The draft Framework asks local authorities to prioritise land of least environmental or amenity value for development. The term “of least environmental or amenity value” rather than “brownfield“ was used because in some cases, previously developed land can be rich in wildlife and much valued by local communities.
	The consultation has closed and we are carefully considering all of the submissions that have been made and will then publish the revised text.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 25 October 2011, Official Report, columns 123-24W, where we have also announced a range of measures which will facilitate the use of previously developed sites.

Green Belt: Gravesham

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he expects the abolition of regional house building targets to result in a reduction in the number of houses likely to be built on land in Gravesham constituency currently designated as green belt.

Bob Neill: The abolition of regional strategies and top down housing targets will mean that decisions on housing and planning will be for local authorities. As democratically elected representatives, working closely with local communities, they are best placed to decide how much and where housing should be located in their areas. The Localism Act prevents any further regional strategies being created. The existing regional strategies outside London will be abolished as soon as possible subject to the outcome of the current environmental assessment process. The proposed abolition will also remove top-down pressures to remove the green belt in 30 areas across England.
	The draft National Planning Policy Framework reiterates long-established policy to protect the green belt. It states that when considering planning applications local planning authorities should ensure that substantial weight is given to any harm to the green belt.

Housing

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the planning implications of potential housing need arising from the upper and lower limits of the Office for National Statistics' projected population range for 2050.

Andrew Stunell: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 21 November 2011, Official Report, columns 59-60W.

Housing: Capital Investment

Nick Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the total capital provision for housing made by (a) local authorities and (b) the Homes and Communities Agency since 2007-08. [R]

Andrew Stunell: The following table sets out the total capital provision made available to local authorities for spending on housing for the years since 2007-08. Allocations have been made in consultation with the Homes and Communities Agency, and other agencies of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (1) 
			 Arms length management organisations(3) 926 896 930 622 
			 Decent homes supported borrowing(4) 312 272 266 259 
			 Decent homes capital grant(4) 437 347 426 308 
			 Gap funding(3) 79 123 149 131 
			 Major repairs allowance(2) 1248 1240 1250 1273 
			 Local authority new build scheme(3) 0 0 198 126 
			 National affordable homes programme 2029 2612 3641 2594 
			 (1) Most recent whole year for which figures are available. Figures are unaudited. (2 )Allocations made as a component of housing revenue account subsidy administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government (3) Allocations made by former Regional Offices, the Regional Housing Boards, and the Greater London Authority, in agreement with the Department for Communities and Local Government. (4) Allocations made by the Homes and Communities Agency in agreement with the Department for Communities and Local Government 
		
	
	I would note that the last Administration left an unsustainable budget deficit, with the state forecast to borrow £146 billion a year in 2010-11, or £400 million being borrowed every single day. Left unchecked, that public deficit would have forced up interest rates, meaning more expensive mortgages, more repossessions and even fewer first-time buyers.
	This Government are tackling that deficit, whilst putting a series of measures in place to build more affordable homes, to get empty homes back into use, to support the construction and house building industries, and to give a helping hand to first-time buyers.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on the effect on the cost of house construction of the (a) implementation of changes to building regulations in 2013, (b) abolition of the fuel factor and (c) implementation of the zero carbon commitment for all new homes from 2016.

Andrew Stunell: Industry working groups including, among others, representatives of the housebuilding and construction products sector were convened in spring 2011 to help inform development of proposals and costings for changes to building regulations in 2013. In addition, my Department has received specific representations from Calor Gas Limited on the cost implications of potential adjustments of the fuel factor. Estimates of costs will be included in the impact assessments which will be published with the consultation proposals shortly and we will invite views and further evidence as part of the consultation.
	My Department has received representations from house builders and others about the costs of zero carbon homes and has published impact assessments setting out the costs, most recently in May 2011. That assessment has drawn on work undertaken by the independent Zero Carbon Hub, the body established by industry to programme manage the delivery of zero carbon homes.

Housing: Energy

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic properties have an energy efficiency rating of C or above.

Andrew Stunell: Energy efficiency ratings are only available from Energy Performance Certificates that have been lodged on the Certificates Register covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland for dwellings that have been sold, rented out or constructed since August 2007. Based on information from the total number of certificates that had been lodged on these registers up to and including 29 November 2011, there were 2,501,556 dwellings with a certificate rating of C or above. Separate arrangements apply to energy efficiency ratings for buildings in Scotland.

Housing: Standards

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic properties have a standard assessment procedure rating of 69 or above.

Andrew Stunell: Energy efficiency ratings are only available from energy performance certificates that have been lodged on the registers of energy performance certificates covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland for dwellings that have been sold, rented out or constructed since August 2007. Based on information from the total number of certificates that had been lodged on these registers up to and including 29 November 2011, there were 2,501,556 dwellings with a certificate rating of C or above—a standard assessment procedure rating of 69 or above is the equivalent to a certificate rating of C or above. Separate arrangements apply to energy efficiency ratings for buildings in Scotland.

Housing: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to co-ordinate policy on poor housing conditions and fuel poverty.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Green Deal is an ambitious programme to deliver energy efficiency upgrades at no upfront cost, with repayments made over time from energy savings. This includes a new Energy Company Obligation, worth £1.3 billion per year, providing extra support where it is most needed. Under the Obligation ‘Affordable Warmth obligation', we expect energy suppliers to invest around £350 million per year in providing heating and insulation measures for vulnerable households on low incomes at greatest risk of fuel poverty. The Government anticipate that the rest of the Energy Company Obligation will support energy efficiency improvements in more difficult and expensive to treat properties through a ‘Carbon Reduction obligation'. The Department of Energy and Climate Change are consulting specifically on expected models for “roll-out”, to ensure all households stand to benefit, including those in the poorest communities.
	Where a property is dangerously cold, local authorities already have powers, under the Housing Act 2004, to require owners to make improvements. If a property is found to contain serious (category 1) hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action. This could range from trying to deal with the problems informally at first to prohibiting the use of the whole or part of the dwelling and ultimately to prosecution.
	The Government are also investing £2.1 billion to improve the quality of housing through the decent homes programme and large-scale voluntary transfer gap funding. This will be used to help bring over 200,000 homes up to at least the decent homes standard.

Local Government: Pensions

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what economic impact assessment has been carried out on the effect of proposed changes to the Local Government Pension scheme on residents of Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Members for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) and for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt), on 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 23W.

Local Government: Trade Union Officials

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue a standard facility time agreement to local authorities which sets out (a) duties which can be undertaken, (b) procedures for approval of such facilities time and (c) provision for the publication of (i) each instance of such facilities time and (ii) the cost of such time.

Bob Neill: At a time when all councils need to make sensible savings to protect front line services, I would urge councillors to review facility time being granted and the merits of using publicly-funded full-time union officials.
	The Cabinet Office is currently consulting on a policy paper about how facility time can be reformed and reduced in the civil service. When published, my Department will provide specific guidance for local councils to help inform their own reviews.

Local Government: Trade Union Officials

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will require local authorities to include the (a) cost of facility time and (b) monetary value of resources provided to trades unions in the list published of items of expenditure over £500.

Bob Neill: The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency, published in September 2011, will give the public greater insight on how local councils, as employers, organise and structure their work forces. As a minimum, the code requires authorities to publish organisational charts of their staff structures including salary bands. In addition, we have asked for all expenditure of £500 and over to be published on a regular and timely basis. This should help reveal the inner workings of local councils and shed light on monies being spent, including on trade union expenditure. Subject to consultation, we are minded to make compliance with the code a legal requirement.
	The Cabinet Office is currently consulting on a policy paper about how facility time can be reformed and reduced in the civil service. When published, my Department will provide guidance for local councils to help inform their own reviews.
	Ministers are open to representations on ways to increase transparency and accountability in this area.

Rented Housing: Energy

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of increases in energy prices on provision of communal heating to Housing Revenue Account tenanted properties; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 907W.

Rented Housing: Energy

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Housing Revenue Account tenanted properties have an energy efficiency rating of C or above.

Andrew Stunell: Information contained in the Register of Energy Performance Certificates does not differentiate between properties that are housing revenue account tenanted and those that are not. However, certificates that have been lodged on the Energy Performance Certificate Registers for dwellings that have been sold, rented out or constructed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, since 21 September 2008 have been categorised by transaction type. Between then and 29 November 2011, there have been 564,956 certificates for dwellings rated C or above categorised as “Rented (social)”. Separate arrangements apply to energy efficiency ratings for buildings in Scotland.

Rented Housing: Standards

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Housing Revenue Account tenanted properties have a standard assessment procedure rating of 69 or above.

Andrew Stunell: Information contained in the register of energy performance certificates does not differentiate between properties that are housing revenue account tenanted and those that are not. However, energy performance certificates that have been lodged on the registers for dwellings that have been sold, rented out or constructed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, since 21 September 2008 have been categorised by transaction type. Between then and 29 November 2011, there have been 564,956 certificates for dwellings rated C or above categorised as “Rented (social)”. On the Scottish register of energy performance certificates, of the 130,741 certificates lodged under transaction type “Rented (social)” there were 67,488 dwellings certificates rated C or above.
	A standard assessment procedure rating of 69 or above is the equivalent to an energy performance certificate rating of C or above.

Right to Buy Scheme: Worcester

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes in Worcester constituency have been sold under the right-to-buy scheme in each of the last 20 years.

Andrew Stunell: Data are not available by constituency but are collected for local authority districts. The number of sales of local authority stock under the Right to Buy scheme are given in Live Table 648 on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/socialhousingsales/livetables/
	There have been no sales by Worcester city council since they transferred their stock to Worcester Community Housing in March 2004. From 2004-05 there have been around 200 Preserved Right to Buy sales by housing associations in the Worcester city council area, the vast majority by Worcester Community Housing.

Rural Areas: Finance

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what grants are available exclusively to local authorities classified as (a) rural-80, (c) rural-50, (c) significant rural, (d) other urban, (e) major urban and (f) large urban.

Bob Neill: holding answer 5 December 2011
	There are no specific grants issued by my Department exclusively available to authorities based on their rural classification.

Social Justice Committee

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings of the Social Justice Committee he has attended since its establishment.

Bob Neill: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when and how often they meet and which Ministers have attended, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Social Rented Housing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what his policy is on housing associations (a) letting and (b) selling their properties to people living outside the UK in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of housing association properties that have been (a) let and (b) sold to people living outside of the UK in the last year for which figures are available.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 7 November 2011
	Given the discussion of these issues at October's oral questions, 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 601, I have investigated this matter and would like to use this opportunity to provide a comprehensive reply both to the right hon. Member and to the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr Raynsford).
	Numbers of lets and sales
	The following tables provide estimates of the number of social properties that were let or sold by private registered providers, the majority of which are housing associations, to people resident outside the United Kingdom immediately prior to taking up this letting or purchase. I have included some historical information to provide context.
	Social housing lettings to households from outside the UK
	
		
			  Outside UK Outside UK as percentage of total 
			 2002-03 583 0.26 
			 2003-04 586 0.26 
			 2004-05 412 0.19 
			 2005-06 427 0.19 
			 2006-07 290 0.13 
			 2007-08 329 0.15 
			 2008-09 348 0.15 
			 2009-10 463 0.20 
			 2010-11 569 0.22 
		
	
	Sales to households from outside the UK
	
		
			  Outside UK 
			 2005-06 4 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 4 
			 2008-09 8 
			 2009-10 6 
			 2010-11 5 
		
	
	These estimates are from the continuous recording (CORE) logs reported by private registered providers to the Tenant Services Authority.
	Many of the recorded lettings were to UK nationals. Whilst only a small number of sales to those outside the UK were recorded in 2010-11, all of these were to UK nationals and some were to returning armed forces personnel.
	Foreign nationals are only eligible to be allocated social housing by a local authority (including nominations to private registered provider accommodation) if they are covered by the housing eligibility regulations.
	Housing eligibility
	Housing eligibility is as follows:
	European economic area nationals
	Since 2006, European economic area nationals are, broadly speaking, eligible for local authority housing if they are working lawfully, are self-sufficient or have a permanent right of residence (following five years lawful residence). In some circumstances, European economic area nationals may continue to be eligible when unemployed, following a qualifying period of work (e.g. if made involuntarily redundant or unable to work because of accident or illness).
	Nationals of Bulgaria and Romania must be authorised to work by the Home Office (until they have worked in the UK continuously for 12 months). They are eligible for social housing if working as authorised.
	European economic area nationals who do not have an EU right to reside because they are not economically active and not self-sufficient are not eligible for social housing. Additionally, those whose only EU right to reside is as a work seeker or the initial three month right to reside derived from the EU Directive on Freedom of Movement of Persons are not eligible.
	Non-European  e conomic  a rea nationals
	Non-European economic area nationals (“third country nationals”) are only eligible for local authority housing if they are a person granted:
	(i) a form of protection leave, ie refugee status or humanitarian protection or discretionary leave, because it would not be safe for them to return to their country (likely to be former asylum seekers); or
	(ii) Indefinite leave to remain (ie settled status, usually granted after working legally in the UK for a number of years).
	Generally third country nationals are not eligible for housing because most are given leave to enter the UK for a limited period on condition that they do not have recourse to public funds. Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing; if they are destitute they can seek asylum support from the Home Office.
	Where foreign nationals are eligible, they will have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other applicants in accordance with the local authority's allocation scheme. Some lettings are made directly by private registered providers and these would not be covered by the eligibility regulations.
	Sales and lets of open market housing
	The tables above do not include sales of open market properties that were specifically developed by the providers for this purpose and have never been social housing. Housing associations are private, independent bodies, and some develop properties through non-charitable subsidiaries for market sale or rent, without any public subsidy. The proceeds from these sales are then used to cross-subsidise the development and maintenance of affordable properties. As with any commercial transaction, the market housing may be purchased by domestic or overseas buyers. I suspect that most foreign purchases from abroad are typically in order to rent the property, thereby increasing the amount of stock in the private rented sector available to UK residents.
	Further to the discussion at 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 601, the Notting Hill Housing Trust has subsequently written to the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr Raynsford), and sent a copy to me. The trust has a small portfolio of market rent and private sale properties, using the profits from these developments to support more affordable housing. It does not presently market these properties abroad, but it does not discriminate against any buyer on the basis of their nationality, and nor does it believe it should do so.
	Government policy
	As happened under the previous Administration, I believe that there is a public benefit from housing associations undertaking some commercial activities in order to support the provision of more affordable housing.
	Under our social housing reforms, councils will now be able to set their own rules about who qualifies to go on the housing waiting list. At the moment anyone can apply to live in social housing, whether they need to or not. The ‘reasonable preference’ categories for those with the greatest housing needs will be kept, to ensure priority for social housing continues to go to the most vulnerable in society and those who need it most.
	We will also be increasing support for our armed forces. Moving from base-to-base, and residing abroad, can often leave our troops without strong local connections—something many councils reasonably look for when allocating social homes. I have pledged to give councils a duty to put our armed forces who want a home in their area at or near the top of the local waiting list where they are in urgent need. In addition to this move to give additional preference (i.e. high priority) to the armed forces, we will also be consulting on regulations which will make sure that service personnel who have to move from base-to-base do not lose their qualification rights to social housing.

Social Rented Housing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what his policy is on (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations buying properties on the open market;
	(2)  how many properties (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations have acquired on the open market in each of the last 10 years.

Grant Shapps: Local authorities and housing associations are able to buy properties on the open market. This can help to increase the supply of affordable housing to meet local needs. However, the vast majority of new affordable housing supply is new build.
	Information on units purchased by private registered providers (most of which are housing associations) is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Total units purchased (1)  (thousand) 
			 2001-02 13.6 
			 2002-03 11.5 
			 2003-04 9.4 
			 2004-05 9.1 
			 2005-06 4.7 
			 2005-06 rebased(2) 4.4 
			 2006-07 4.0 
			 2007-08 5.9 
			 2008-09 6.9 
			 2009-10 5.9 
			 (1) Units include both self contained homes or hostel/shared housing units and bed spaces. (2) Figures for 2005-06 were rebased to reflect the threshold change in 2007. Notes: 1. Only private registered providers that complete the "long return" were required to complete this information. Before 2006, long returns were completed by private registered providers who own and/or manage 250 units From 2006-07 long returns were completed by private registered providers who own and/or manage 1,000 or more units. 2. Not all of the units purchased will necessarily be used as affordable housing. Source: Tenants Services Authority—Regulatory Statistical Return 
		
	
	The Tenants Services Authority's Regulatory Statistical Return dataset for 2010-11 shows that 16,700 units were purchased by private registered providers. However, 10,259 units appear to have been incorrectly recorded by an individual registered provider as purchased rather than acquired through voluntary transfer from local authorities or housing action trusts. This was identified after submission and confirmation of the individual registered provider's data and the finalisation of the Regulatory Statistical Return dataset, and cannot now be amended.
	Information has not been collected on local authority acquisitions.

Voluntary Organisations

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to help maintain the local voluntary sector.

Andrew Stunell: My Department is undertaking a number of steps to support the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, including:
	In September 2011, we issued new Best Value guidance: a ‘fair deal' which cuts back unnecessary red tape on local authorities, while introducing new requirements for councils to consult with local voluntary organisations on changes to funding and service. It will also give the voluntary sector the opportunity to offer options for reshaping and improving local authority services.
	We are investing £6.5 billion for Supporting People over the spending review period, to provide frontline housing support to disadvantaged and vulnerable people; the majority of these services are provided by the voluntary sector.
	We are providing £20 million of funding for the voluntary sector to help implement “No Second Night Out” rough sleeping strategy. As part of this, Homeless Link will work with other voluntary sector partners to identify and disseminate good practice in helping people off the streets. We are providing £10 million to Crisis in order to support single homeless people, including priority client groups such as recovering drug-users and ex-offenders, to access stable accommodation in the private rented sector.
	On 14 November 2011, we launched the Near Neighbours programme. This is a £5 million scheme to bring together people from diverse communities and different faiths to get to know each other better and help them improve their local neighbourhoods. Faith groups play a vital role in our neighbourhoods. Near Neighbours is an investment in the future, supporting grass roots groups and projects to allow communities to get on transforming their neighbourhoods for the better.
	The Community Right to Buy, being introduced through the Localism Act, will offer new rights for voluntary groups to protect community resources like leisure centres, village halls and libraries. Groups will have the time they need to develop business plans and raise funds. This crucial breathing space will ensure that they are not squeezed out of open market sales of valuable local assets. We have extended funding for the Asset Transfer Unit by £1 million into 2011-12 enabling the unit to continue to offer practical support to communities who want to take on public assets such as youth centres, museums and former town halls for the benefit of local people.
	From September 2011, the new “Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency” requires councils to shine the light on local spending, including details of grants to the voluntary sector, as well as all contracts and tenders over £500. This open data initiative will allow greater public scrutiny of local authority support, and make it easier for the voluntary sector to bid to run contracts and services.
	As part of our Housing Strategy announced on 21 November 2011, we outlined how we will be providing funding for voluntary groups to bid for funds to renovate and improve empty homes and other types of empty property and get them back into productive use.
	The Localism Act also introduces a Community Right to Challenge. Voluntary groups that have a track record of working with their community and delivering results will have the chance to show what they can do to run and improve local services. The new right will put them on the front foot when it comes to taking over a local service and has the potential to open up new funding streams.
	We have cut Whitehall and local red tape to make it easier to organise street parties and similar community events. This was particularly aimed at supporting local events for the Royal Wedding; we hope to continue with this initiative to support the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee.
	My Department's Voluntary and Community Sector Partnership Board is also acting as a forum where the voluntary sector can contribute to the Department's work.
	These reforms are in addition to a whole series of other supportive measures to the local voluntary sector being undertaken by other Government Departments, which include:
	a £100 million Transition Fund offering financing for the most vulnerable charities.
	a £30 million Transforming Local Infrastructure fund to help modernise organisations that supply critical support to frontline charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises.
	a £10 million Investment and Contract Readiness Fund being made available to charities and social enterprises to help them develop the skills and infrastructure to win more capital investment and public service.
	£600 million capital funding through Big Society Capital, which will offer financing to charities and the voluntary sector.
	Simplifying Gift Aid, and encouraging legacy-giving by reducing the rate of inheritance tax for those estates leaving 10% or more to charity.

Metal Theft

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on local authority powers to prevent the disposal of stolen goods, including scrap metal and jewellery; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: holding answer 5 December 2011
	Local authorities are expected to work with police forces and other law enforcement organisations where possible to tackle the disposal of stolen goods, utilising their existing powers, including trading standards, as appropriate. In relation to scrap metal, local authorities have a duty under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 to register scrap metal dealers in their area and certain powers of entry which may assist in identifying illegal behaviour. The Government are currently reviewing what further steps can be taken to help tackle metal theft.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Leader of the House what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

George Young: I have answered all 13 named day questions on the named day during the last six months.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments’ performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

EDUCATION

Children in Care

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will enhance the specification of the SSDA903 return to identify when a child who has been adopted from care returns to care in a different local authority area.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not collect data on the number of adoptions that break down and where the child returns to care. The Department is funding Bristol university to conduct research on the rate of and reasons for breakdowns in adoption. Findings from the research will inform decisions on whether we ask for additional data from local authorities.

Children: Day Care

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the average cost of childcare in (a) England and (b) each region of England in each of the last five years.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Department’s annual Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on the mean average hourly fees charged by some registered child care providers in England, nationally and by region. The 2009 survey did not collect this data, and the latest available survey is for 2010. The available figures for the five years from 2006 to 2010 are as follows:
	
		
			 Average hourly fees by child care provider and by Government Office Region 
			 £ 
			  Full day care Sessional Childminders 
			  2010 2008 2007 2006 2010 2008 2007 2006 2010 2008 2007 2006 
			 Overall mean average hourly fee 3.70 3.50 3.20 2.70 3.00 2.30 2.30 1.90 3.80 3.60 3.60 3.20 
			              
			 East Midlands (1)3.20 3.60 (2)— 2.70 (1)2.80 (3)— (2)— 1.60 (1)3.20 3.20 (1)5.90 2.90 
			 East 3.60 3.50 (2)— 2.60 3.10 2.30 (2)— 2.00 4.00 3.60 3.40 3.30 
			 London 4.70 4.60 (2)— 2.90 (1)3.60 2.40 (2)— 2.10 4.70 4.30 4.20 3.90 
			 North East (3)— 3.20 (2)— (4)2.60 (3)— (3)— (2)— (4)1.60 (5)3.30 3.20 (4)2.90 (4)3.00 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside (1)3.50 3.00 (2)— (4)— (1)2.80 2.20 (2)— (4)— 3.30 3.20 (4)— (4)— 
			 North West 3.50 3.60 (2)— 2.60 (1)2.50 2.10 (2)— 1.60 (1)3.30 3.00 (1)2.90 2.90 
			 South East 3.80 3.50 (2)— 2.80 3.60 2.60 (2)— 2.20 4.10 3.80 3.80 3.40 
			 South West 3.60 3.30 (2)— 2.80 (1)2.80 2.30 (2)— 1.90 3.70 3.60 (1)3.20 3.10 
			 West Midlands 3.30 2.90 (2)— 2.70 (1)2.60 (3)— (2)— 2.40 (1)3.30 3.00 (1)2.80 2.80 
			 (1) Signifies a cell where data should be treated with caution due to a low base size between 50 and 100. (2) Regional data on fees for full day care and sessional are not available for 2007. (3) Signifies a cell where data have not been included due to a base of less than 50. (4) Indicates a brace. (5) North East and Yorkshire and Humberside were considered as a single region for Childminders, so these figures represent the combined average for those regions. Note: Data on hourly fees were not collected in 2009 due to the reduced nature of the survey. Source: Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010

Children: Missing Persons

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the children in care and adoption performance tables, November 2011, whether he is satisfied that no children went missing in (a) Knowsley, (b) St Helens, (c) Rochdale, (d) Kirklees, (e) South Gloucestershire, (f) Hartlepool, (g) Redcar and Cleveland, (h) Stockton-on-Tees, (i) city of Kingston upon Hull, (j) Bedford borough, (k) central Bedfordshire, (l) Bournemouth, (m) Durham, (n) East Sussex, (o) Rutland, (p) Reading, (q) Blackpool, (r) Hackney, (s) Manchester, (t) Derby, (u) Leicester, (v) Cambridgeshire, (w) Kent, (x) Lancashire, (y) Nottingham, (z) Lincolnshire and (aa) Oxfordshire between 2008 and 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: The adoption and performance tables show a three year average of children absent from their agreed placement for more than 24 hours as a percentage of looked after children. The figures for (a) Knowsley, (b) St Helens, (c) Rochdale, (d) Kirklees, (e)South Gloucestershire, (f) Hartlepool, (g) Redcar and Cleveland, (h) Stockton-on-Tees, (i) city of Kingston upon Hull, (j) Bedford borough, (k) central Bedfordshire, (l)Bournemouth, (m) Durham, (n) East Sussex, (o) Rutland, (p) Reading, and (q)Blackpool are zero. For these local authorities no looked after child is recorded as being absent from their agreed placement in each of the years 2008 to 2010.
	For the local authorities, (r) Hackney, (s) Manchester, (t) Derby, (u) Leicester, (v)Cambridgeshire, (w) Kent, (x) Lancashire, (y) Nottingham, (z) Lincolnshire and (aa)Oxfordshire the three year average is shown as “-”. This symbol in the tables indicates that the percentage of looked after children recorded as being absent from their agreed placement for more than 24 hours for the years 2008 to 2010 is lower than 0.5%. Therefore for these local authorities, there are some children recorded as being absent from their agreed placement for more than 24 hours at some point during the period 2008 to 2010.
	The information published in the Children in Care and Adoption Performance Tables was sourced from the Department's SSDA903 collection. This collection is returned annually by local authorities. Local authorities are responsible for checking their data and, once they are confident that they are accurate, must sign them off. All local authorities signed off the data for the years in question.
	The data go through extensive validation to support local authorities in ensuring that their final data is correct. Once these data have been finalised, statisticians perform extensive quality assurance of the data. I can therefore be satisfied that the data shown in these tables are an accurate reflection of the situation regarding children absent from their agreed placement for each local authority named in the question.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that the same standards of animal welfare for whole eggs apply to imported liquefied eggs procured by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education's and its public bodies' caterers use eggs that are Lion Branded and sourced from enriched cages as a minimum standard. From 1 January 2012 all eggs and egg products will be sourced from enhanced conventional cages.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by a third party.

Tim Loughton: The information requested is not held centrally and to gather this information would represent disproportionate costs.

Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of food sourced by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible was procured from UK food producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: The information is as follows.
	1. The Department for Education's and its public bodies' caterers are British Farm Assured Accredited for fresh meat and poultry and Marine Stewardship Council accredited for fish. The award of Red Tractor accreditation ensures that all fresh meat and poultry is British produced. The majority of fish used within the contracts area are also sourced from British waters.
	2. Wherever practical, and subject to the cost of the supply, bacon used within the catering provision is British sourced.
	3. Subject to seasonal availability, fruit and vegetable products conform to Linking Environment and Farming environmental standards and are sourced from British suppliers.
	4. Specific data are not held. The Department has contractual catering arrangements in place to ensure that food procurement complies with the Government Buying Standards for Food and catering in relation to food purchase and provision.

Free Schools

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the potential effects of (a) free schools and (b) academies on educational attainment.

Nick Gibb: The first free schools opened in September 2011. The high quality of the proposals for these schools, coupled with the fact that they are being run by dedicated individuals, suggests that they will be shown to perform well when performance data are available. Parents clearly agree; over half of these schools are over-subscribed, many with waiting lists to cope with the demand.
	On academies, the latest provisional 2011 GCSE results show that results in academies open for two years have improved twice as fast as those in maintained schools. As the number of academies continues to grow, we expect that they will continue to have a positive effect on educational attainment.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment has been made of the effect of the pupil premium on the number of children living in poverty up to 2015.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 31 October 2011
	The pupil premium provides additional funding for the most disadvantaged pupils, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, those whose parents are in the armed forces and children who have been in care for more than six months.
	The pupil premium is aimed at narrowing the gap in educational attainment between children from deprived backgrounds and other pupils in a school. It is not intended to impact directly on the number of children living in poverty by 2015 but it is intended to allow schools to provide disadvantaged children with additional support where they need it to help them reach their potential by improving their attainment, aspiration and progression into adulthood. This is a key strand of our approach to improving the life chances of children and preventing them from becoming the next generation of disadvantaged parents.
	Schools will be accountable for narrowing the attainment gap for disadvantaged children. We will reform performance tables to include new measures that show the attainment of pupils who receive the pupil premium compared with their peers. We will also ask schools to report to parents on an annual basis how they have used the pupil premium.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under the age of 18 years have been treated for alcohol-induced illness by NHS hospitals since January 2011.

Anne Milton: Provisional figures show that there were an estimated 7,074 admissions of people under the age of 18 years that have been treated for alcohol-induced illness(1) by national health service hospitals since January 2011.
	(1) In 2007, the Department commissioned the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) to undertake a review of the epidemiological literature to identify those conditions where there is significant evidence of a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and the disease or injury, NWPHO's findings were published in “Alcohol-attributable fractions for England, Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions”, June 2008.
	This is shown in a table that has been placed in the Library. The data in the table should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
	Some conditions (such as alcoholic liver disease or ethanol poisoning) are wholly attributed to alcohol consumption (that is, alcohol consumption is the sole cause).
	Other conditions (cancer of the oesophagus and assaults) are only partially attributed to alcohol consumption (that is, alcohol consumption causes the illness in some cases). For these conditions, estimates of the fraction of cases that can be attributed to alcohol, were produced by combining information from epidemiological studies about the increased risks associated with different levels of alcohol consumption with information from population surveys about self-reported consumption.
	These "alcohol-attributable fractions" are applied to data on hospital admissions to estimate the number of admissions where the patient has been diagnosed with a condition caused by alcohol consumption. For example, it is estimated that 32% of cancers of the oesophagus among men aged 16 to 24 in England can be attributed to alcohol consumption. The estimate of the number of admissions where men aged 16 to 24 have been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus that can be attributed to alcohol consumption is obtained by multiplying the total number of admissions where men aged 16 to 24 have been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus by 32%.

Cannabis: Children

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) people and (b) people under the age of 18 years were treated for cannabis-induced psychosis in each of the last two years.

Anne Milton: Data on the number of people treated for cannabis-induced psychosis are not collected centrally. However, data on the number of finished admissions episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids are collected and presented in the following table:
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes (FAE) with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids (ICD10 code F12) 
			  Number of people treated Number of people aged under 18 Number of people aged 18 and over Age not known 
			 2009-10 713 93 617 3 
			 2010-11 799 87 710 2 
			 Notes: 1. A FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD10 Code used = F12 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids (including cannabis). 3. Data quality—HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English national health service. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 4. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures, which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 5. Activity included—activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Contraception

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his proposed timetable is for development of a Quality Standard for contraceptive services, including emergency contraception; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) jointly with the National Quality Board recently ran an engagement exercise on the development of a library of NICE Quality Standard topics for the national health service. The list of proposed Quality Standard topics published as part of this exercise included contraceptive services (including emergency contraception). The engagement exercise closed on 14 October 2011.
	Further information on the engagement exercise can be found at:
	www.nice.org.uk/getinvolved/currentniceconsultations/NQBEngagement.jsp
	An announcement on next steps will be made once the responses have been analysed.

Departmental Advertising

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advertising campaigns his Department has run in each of the last five years; and what the cost was of each such campaign.

Simon Burns: The following tables show the Department's advertising expenditure carried out through the Communications Directorate over each of the last five financial years for which full information is available, by campaign.
	Advertising spend is defined as covering only media spend (inclusive of agency commissions but excluding production costs, Central Office of Information (COI) commission and VAT). All figures exclude advertising rebates and audit adjustments and therefore may differ from COI official turnover figures. All figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000. These figures do not include Departmental recruitment/classified advertising costs and ad hoc spend under £10,000. These figures may include occasional minor spend through COI by national health service organisations, to supplement national campaigns in their area. While this expenditure has been excluded as far as possible so that this chart reflects central departmental spend, it would incur disproportionate cost to validate that every item of NHS expenditure has been removed.
	A total budget figure for the current financial year cannot be provided at this stage as detailed planning for some campaigns is under way and advertising media allocations have not yet been finalised.
	
		
			 Department of Health advertising spend 
			 £ million 
			 Campaign 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Alcohol (1)0.56 (1)0.61 (1)4.77 3.25 0.00 
			 Antibiotics 0.00 0.39 1.15 0.00 0.00 
			 Cancer signs and symptoms 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.42 
			 Change4Life 0.00 0.00 7.69 9.20 1.61 
			 Drugs(1) 1.34 0.67 1.45 1.42 0.01 
			 Flu (immunisation) 1.11 0.98 1.42 0.17 0.00 
			 Hepatitis C 0.52 1.34 1.30 1.04 0.00 
			 HPV vaccination 0.00 0.00 2.80 3.73 0.00 
			 Immunisation 1.66 0.00 0.32 0.24 0.00 
			 National dementia strategy 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.58 0.59 
			 NHS injury benefits scheme 0.00 0.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 NHS Choices 0.00 0.03 0.55 0.00 0.00 
			 NHS 111 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.11 
			 Patient Choice 0.00 0.00 0.53 0.00 0.00 
			 Pandemic flu 0.00 0.00 0.00 7.24 0.00 
			 Respiratory and hand hygiene 0.00 0.32 1.53 2.63 0.79 
			 Sexual health/teenage pregnancy 2.88 3.11 2.83 7.67 0.00 
			 Social care/worker recruitment 2.31 2.22 2.03 2.99 0.00 
			 Smoking—tobacco control 13.17 10.79 23.38 14.60 1.05 
			 Stroke 0.00 0.00 4.52 2.24 0.54 
			 Tobacco legislation 0.32 5.38 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 5-a-Day 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 E111/EHIC 0.00 0.00 0.16 0.00 0.00 
			 Lifecheck 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.28 0.00 
			 Total 23.92 26.24 56.43 60.28 4.21 
			 (1) Departmental contribution to campaign run jointly with Home Office

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Simon Burns: Between 1 June and 30 November 2011, 635 written questions for answer on a named day were received. 100% received a substantive answer on the date for answer.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments’ performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Social Care Funding

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the Government’s response to the Dilnot Commission’s report Fairer Funding for All.

Paul Burstow: On 4 July this year, the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), set out the Government’s initial response to the report of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support.
	The Government welcomed this report, which is an immensely valuable contribution to meeting the long-term challenge of an ageing population.
	Government have spent the last few months engaging with stakeholders from across the care and support community to ensure that we get funding reform—and social care reform more broadly—right.
	As the Secretary of State set out in his July statement, the Government plan to publish a social care White Paper and a progress report on funding reform in the spring. We remain committed to this timetable.

Drugs: Young People

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) people, (b) under 18 year olds, (c) under 16 year olds and (d) under 12 year olds were given drug rehabilitation treatment for each type of drug since January 2011.

Anne Milton: The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System records information about substance misuse interventions in England. Data on adults (18 and over) in contact with drug treatment agencies and general practitioners in England in 2010-11 were published as “Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011”. A copy has been placed in the Library. The young people's annual statistics for 2010-11 will be published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse on 8 December and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Food: Labelling

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the differences are between the targets put in place by the Food Standards Agency prior to May 2010 and the targets in the responsibility deal in respect of (a) salt reduction, (b) saturated fat reduction and reformulation, (c) front of pack nutrition labelling and traffic light colour coding and (d) information on healthy choices when eating out; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Responsibility Deal has the same salt reduction targets as those developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), with a modification to the average and maximum targets for breakfast cereals. As a result, the Responsibility Deal targets have the potential to remove more salt from our foods than those set by the FSA.
	The FSA published recommendations for saturated fat for a number of food categories in March 2010. There are currently no Responsibility Deal targets for saturated fat and reformulation. Work on saturated fat will be part of the next phase of the Responsibility Deal.
	The FSA had no targets associated with front of pack labelling or the use of traffic light labelling and there are currently no Responsibility Deal pledges in this area.
	The FSA had no targets associated with information on healthy eating when eating out. The Responsibility Deal has a pledge for businesses to provide calorie information for food and non-alcoholic drinks in out of home settings from 1 September 2011.

Health Professions: Training

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training posts have been funded for (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) other clinical staff in each of the last 10 years.

Anne Milton: The following table shows the total population of doctors across all grades of training from 2001 to 2010:
	
		
			 Total number of doctors in training in England—at 30 September 2001 to 2010 
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Hospital and community services doctors in training and equivalents 32,005 33,932 36,402 40,654 43,295 45,422 46,051 48,298 51,216 51,397 
			 General practice registrars 1,811 1,907 2,153 2,454 2,435 2,190 2,409 3,055 3,659 3,718 
			 Total number of doctors in training 33,816 35,839 38,554 43,108 45,729 47,613 48,460 51,353 54,875 55,115 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are shown as full-time equivalents 2. The Modernising Medical Careers programme saw the introduction of new training grades, changes in categorisation and reorganisation of training staff. Evidence of these changes were first reflected in 2007, within the component staff of the doctors in training and equivalents group (particularly registrar group and senior house officers). 3.Doctors in training and equivalents refers to the registrar group, senior house officer, foundation year 2, house officer and foundation programme year 1, other doctors in training and other staff at these grades that do not hold an educationally approved training post. Source: NHS work force census 
		
	
	The Department does not collect population data for the number of nurses and other clinical staff in training each year. However, the latest figures available show that, in 2010-11, the population of nurses in training was 53,101 and other non-medical trainees was 36,258, giving a total non-medical trainee population of 89,359. The following table shows the number of new nursing and other non medical staff courses that were commissioned in each financial year since 2001-02.
	
		
			 Non-medical commissions by strategic health authorities (SHAs) in England 2001-02 to 2010-11 
			  2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Nursing commissions 20,624 21,523 22,815 23,369 20,308 21,199. 19,352 20,664 20,829 20,092 
			 Other non-medical commissions 9,250 11,819 13,536 14,508 13,842 14,124 13,992 16,726 16,225 16,401 
			 Total non-medical commissions 29,874 33,342 36,351 37,877 34,150 35,323 33,344 37,390 37,054 36,493 
			 Source: SHA Multi Professional Education and Training monitoring returns

Health Services

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been treated by the NHS in the last 12 months.

Simon Burns: The available information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Out-patient and in-patient hospital activity, England (commissioner based) 
			  Out-patients In-patients 
			 Quarter First  attendances seen Subsequent attendances seen Total attendances seen Elective general and acute FFCEs Non-elective general and acute FFCEs Total general and acute FFCEs 
			 Q3 2010-11 4,105,634 8,528,525 12,634,159 1,771,893 1,394,031 3,165,924 
			 Q4 2010-11 4,198,682 9,092,643 13,291,325 1,812,254 1,366,621 3,178,875 
			 Q1 2011-12 4,134,870 8,765,011 12,899,881 1,775,676 1,327,206 3,102,882 
		
	
	
		
			 Q2 2011-12 4,254,577 8,931,242 13,185,819 1,856,423 1,318,853 3,175,276 
			 Sum of the four quarters 16,693,763 35,317,421 52,011,184 7,216,246 5,406,711 12,622,957 
			 Note: The out-patient attendances are for all specialties. The in-patient First Finished Consultant Episodes (FFCEs) are for general and acute specialties only. General and acute does not include maternity, mental illness and learning disability. Source: Department of Health Quarterly Activity Return (QAR) for out-patient attendances and Monthly Activity Return (MAR) for in-patient FFCEs

Health Services: Finance

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that the Health Premium does not divert resources from the areas with the highest level of continuing health problems.

Simon Burns: The Department is developing a health premium that will incentivise local authorities to make improvements in health and reduce health inequalities. Those areas with the worst health problems will see the greatest incentive because they face the greatest challenges.
	Detailed work on the health premium can only begin once the baseline spend is known and after the publication of the Public Health Outcomes Framework. More information will be published as soon as possible after that so that local authorities know what is expected of them to receive an incentive payment.

Health: Children

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will prepare and publish a strategy for improving children's health.

Anne Milton: In the Government's new vision for the national health service and public health we have made explicit our determination to provide high quality services for children and young people as an essential and integral part of delivering better health outcomes.
	Since the publication in September 2010 of “Achieving Equity and Excellence for children”, Ministers and officials have worked with the children's sector to develop a focus on improving children's health in the reformed health and public health system. Subject to parliamentary approval, the new framework will enable a more robust, focused and comprehensive approach to child health.
	A copy of the publication has been placed in the Library.

Health: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with London boroughs on the Government’s public health reforms.

Anne Milton: A pan-London Delivery board exists to support and co-ordinate public health reforms in London. This board is co-chaired by the regional director of public health and the chief executive of Bromley council on behalf of London boroughs.
	Last year, the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), wrote to the Mayor of London inviting further proposals for the optimal public health improvement system for London. Early this year, the Mayor and London councils responded positively with their proposal to set up a London Health Improvement Board. The Department is working with the Greater London authority and London boroughs in considering how best to take the proposals forward.

Hospital Beds

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) acute and (b) critical care beds were reported in situation reports to his Department as being in use in hospitals in each week since 1 April 2011.

Simon Burns: The Department does not collect data on bed numbers in weekly situation reports. The information collected by the Department on a monthly and quarterly basis since April 2011 is provided in the following tables.
	
		
			 England level 
			  Average number of available general and acute beds under care of a consultant 
			 Year Period Overnight beds Day only beds 
			 2011-12 Q1 104,620 10,601 
			 2011-12 Q2 105,673 11,381 
			 Source: KH03 quarterly return 
		
	
	
		
			 England  l evel 
			  Number of beds open at last Thursday in reporting period 
			 Year Period Number of adult critical care beds Number of paediatric intensive care beds Number of neonatal critical care cots (or beds) 
			 2011-12 April 3,707 393 1,283 
			 2011-12 May 3,706 398 1,286 
			 2011-12 June 3,683 402 1,267 
			 2011-12 July 3,706 392 1,281 
			 2011-12 August 3,704 396 1,269 
			 2011-12 September 3,718 409 1,267 
			 2011-12 October 3,728 396 1,289 
			 Source: Unify2 data collection—Monthly situation reports

Influenza

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to provide information on the steps that the public should take to minimise the risk of transmission and infection in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Anne Milton: On 10 November 2011, the Government launched the UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy 2011. The Strategy has already been placed in the Library and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_130903
	This United Kingdom wide Strategy aims to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the best-prepared countries in the world.
	In the event of a pandemic, the Government will use a wide range of media to communicate information effectively to the public. Until the characteristics of any emerging virus are known, plans remain flexible, but are likely to include regular press briefings, via the Chief Medical Officer and other trusted health professionals, key websites and social media as well as paid-for advertising where appropriate.
	Information may also be made available directly to the public through telephone help lines and other interactive channels. The Department will also work closely with potential partners from the commercial and voluntary sectors to develop ways for them to disseminate urgent public health messages to their customers and members.

Influenza: Vaccination

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of likely take-up rates of the influenza vaccine in each (a) age group, (b) category of at-risk group and (c) geographical area.

Anne Milton: The chief medical officer (CMO) wrote to the national health service on 14 March 2011 setting out the planning assumptions for vaccine uptake for the current flu season. The CMO stated that the NHS in England should plan to achieve a vaccine uptake rate of at least 75% among people aged 65 and over, and to vaccinate at least 60% of those aged under 60 in clinical risk groups.
	The CMO letter can be viewed at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_125091
	A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

Liver Diseases: Children

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged (a) under 10 years and (b) 10 years and over were admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of (i) non-alcoholic fatty liver and (ii) diabetes since January 2011.

Anne Milton: Information is not available on the number of patients admitted. The table shows the number of finished admission episodes.
	Count of finished admission episodes(1) where primary diagnosis is fatty (change of) liver, not elsewhere classified or diabetes for children aged under 10 years and aged 10-18 since January 2011.
	(1) A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission in the year.
	
		
			 Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			 Primary diagnoses Age group January to March 2011 April to July 2011 ( provisional ) 
			 Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 0 to 9 6 9 
			  10 to 18 25 18 
			     
			 Diabetes 0 to 9 622 704 
			  10 to 18 1,768 2,120 
			 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Maternity Services

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to implement the Maternity Matters policy.

Anne Milton: “Maternity Matters” (April 2007) was the previous administration's policy for maternity choice. In the White Paper, “Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS” (July 2010) we set out our commitment to extend maternity choice through provider networks.
	By focusing on health outcomes and delivering maternity services through provider networks, we will help to make safe, informed choice throughout pregnancy and in childbirth a reality and to facilitate movement between the different services to meet women's needs and choices.
	The Department funded the “Birthplace in England” research study, published by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit in November 2011, to compare the outcomes of births planned at home, in different types of midwifery unit and in hospital units with obstetric services. This study will help the national health service in their maternity services, based on what women want and need. It will also help midwives advise women so that they can make the most informed choice about their birth setting.

Maternity Services: Finance

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding he is providing to support (a) all neonatal care services and (b) neonatal intensive care services during the comprehensive spending review period.

Anne Milton: The Government have committed to increasing funding in real terms funding for the national health service in every year of the Parliament.
	Primary care trust (PCT) recurrent revenue allocations are not broken down by service or policy area. It is for PCTs to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local populations, taking account of local and national priorities.

Mental Health Services

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Education, (b) Justice, (c) Work and Pensions and (d) Communities and Local Government about the implementation of the Government's mental health strategy, No Health Without Mental Health;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to implement the Government's mental health strategy, No Health Without Mental Health.

Paul Burstow: “No Health Without Mental Health” highlights that mental health is a priority across Government, and that its ambitions are shared by a number of Government Departments. Most Government Departments have plans of action that will improve mental health outcomes.
	The Cabinet sub-Committee on Public Health is where these plans are brought together, and where the Government will oversee progress on this strategy. The Cabinet Committee on Social Justice will also help to ensure that there is effective cross-Government action to address many of the social causes of mental health problems.
	Since publication, the Department has worked to further the aims of the strategy through a number of routes. These include the recently-published national health service (NHS) operating framework which highlights mental health services and specifically “No Health without Mental Health” and makes it clear that this should be a priority for primary care trust commissioning.
	Mental health is reflected in the outcomes frameworks for the NHS and adult social care, and in the draft outcomes framework for public health.
	Implementation will also be supported through the introduction of payment by results and improved outcome measures for mental health within the NHS.
	We have established a Ministerial Advisory Group for the mental health strategy to work in partnership to realise this strategy. The group brings together Government, relevant national bodies, commissioners, mental health provider organisations, voluntary and community sector organisations, and people with mental health problems and carers.
	Proposals to develop a full implementation framework for the strategy were agreed by the Ministerial Advisory Group in October 2011.
	The framework will be co-produced and jointly owned by national mental health organisations, with involvement and engagement from organisations across the sector, in partnership with Government Departments.

Mental Illness

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people with (a) mild to moderate and (b) severe mental illness (i) in January 2011 and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: The Department does not collect this information.
	The most recent data on the proportion of adults with mental disorders are from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Census (APMS). Data from this report are as follows:
	
		
			 Prevalence based on 2007 APMS 
			  All adults (Percentage) 
			 Any common mental disorder (includes anxiety and depression) 16.2 
			 Psychotic disorder 0.4 
			 Source: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity in England, 2007: results of a household survey: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/psychiatricmorbidity07

Mental Illness: Children

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people aged under 18 years diagnosed with a mental disorder for each type of disorder (i) in January 2011 and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: No estimate has been made but information on the prevalence of mental disorders in children and young people has been published by other organisations.
	For example, in the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in Great Britain, 2004 the Office for National Statistics reported that 9.6% of five to 16 year-olds had a clinically recognisable mental disorder. Of these, 5.8% had a conduct disorder, 3.7% had emotional disorders (anxiety and depression), 1.5% had hyperkinetic (hyperactive) disorders and 0.3% had eating disorders. Some children had more than one disorder. The same survey showed that among five-ten year-olds 10.2% of boys and 5.1% of girls had a clinically recognisable mental disorder. In the older age group, 11 to 16 year-olds, 12.6% of boys and 10.3% of girls had a clinically recognisable mental disorder.

Mental Illness: Young People

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) people and (b) people under 18 years of age were treated for cannabis-induced psychosis (i) since January 2011 and (ii) in the previous 12 months.

Anne Milton: Data on the number of people treated for cannabis-induced psychosis are not collected centrally. However, data on the number of finished admissions episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids are collected and presented in the following tables.
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids (ICD10 code F12), since January 2011 
			  Number of people treated Number of people aged under 18 Number of people aged 18 and over Age not known 
			 January 2011 69 4 65 0 
			 February 2011 51 4 47 0 
			 March 2011 74 9 65 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids (ICD10 code F12), January 2010-December 2010 
			  Number of people treated Number of people aged under 18 Number of people aged 18 and over Age not known 
			 January 2010 60 8 52 0 
			 February 2010 56 9 47 0 
			 March 2010 56 10 46 0 
			 April 2010 74 9 65 0 
			 May 2010 79 11 68 0 
			 June 2010 69 5 64 0 
			 July 2010 78 6 71 1 
		
	
	
		
			 August 2010 71 8 63 0 
			 September 2010 47 6 41 0 
			 October 2010 61 12 49 0 
			 November 2010 64 5 58 1 
			 December 2010 62 8 54 0 
			 Notes: 1. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD10 Code used = F12 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids (including cannabis). 3. Data quality—HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 4. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 5. Activity included—activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust: Information and Communications Technology

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when development commenced on the Lorenzo IT system at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust; and when he expects the system to be deployed;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) Connecting for Health staff and (b) contractors in support of the development and deployment of the Lorenzo IT system at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust since the start of the project.

Simon Burns: Development of the Lorenzo computer system started at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay National Health Service Foundation Trust in August 2008. The trust has implemented the following elements of the system: Requests and Results/Clinical Documentation; Care Management and To Take Out (out-patient department) Prescribing and plans to implement the Emergency Care element in 2012. The support costs provided to date by NHS Connecting for Health staff are estimated to be £460,000 and an estimated £3,734,000 spent on contractors.

Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust: Information and Communications Technology

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the amount of funding from (a) Connecting for Health and (b) the NHS which has been spent to date to support the development of the Lorenzo IT system at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to date to the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust of the development and deployment of the Lorenzo IT system.

Simon Burns: A total of £2.16 million has been provided to University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay National Health Service Foundation Trust in their role as an early adopter for release 1 and 1.9 of the Lorenzo information technology system—£1,158,660 from NHS Connecting for Health and £1,007,000 from the NHS.
	These costs do not include payments for the system to the local service provider, which are only made when the deployment has been proved successful. To date, a payment of £0.3 million has been made by NHS Connecting for Health for the deployment of the first release of the Lorenzo IT system at the trust. No payments have been made for subsequent releases. Total costs payable to the supplier are dependent on which functionality is deployed at the trust.
	The trust estimate their total costs to be £6.2 million from their involvement with the programme. These relate to user training, project management, additional computer equipment and additional corporate reporting tools. In addition to the £2.16 million funding from Connecting for Health and the NHS, £3.2 million funding has been provided by the local service provider, with a further £0.8 million expected before 31 March 2012.

NHS: Manpower

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of future levels of staffing in the NHS; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the number of Tier 2 visas that may have to be issued to meet future NHS staffing needs.

Simon Burns: Local national health service organisations are best placed to decide on the work force needs for their community, according to local circumstances and priorities, with assurance and challenge regionally and nationally.
	The Migration Advisory Committee is consulting on policies towards skilled economic migrants from April 2012, including the level of the limits on Tier 2 visas.
	The Department of Health will be responding to the consultation and will continue to work closely with the Home Office and stakeholders to ensure that the NHS is not adversely affected by the review of the Tier 2 limits.

North Bristol NHS Trust: Information and Communications Technology

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when development commenced on the Cerner Millennium IT system at North Bristol NHS Trust; and when he expects the system to be deployed;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) Connecting for Health staff and (b) contractors in support of the development and deployment of the Cerner Millennium IT system at North Bristol NHS Trust since the start of the project;
	(3)  how much (a) Connecting for Health and (b) the NHS has spent to support the development of the Cerner Millennium IT system at North Bristol NHS Trust since the start of the project.

Simon Burns: The project to deliver the Cerner Millennium IT system at North Bristol National Health Service Trust under the BT Local Service Provider contract commenced on 26 April 2010. The trust is planning to start using the system on the 8 December 2011.
	The support costs for the deployment of the Cerner Millennium IT system at North Bristol NHS Trust are estimated to be £60,887 for NHS Connecting for Health staff and £585,106 for contractors supplied via the Southern Programme for IT. These costs cover support provided to the trust for test assurance, additional testers and trainers, and extra project management. North Bristol NHS Trust has spent £3.9 million since the start of the project.
	NHS Connecting for Health has not directly incurred costs for development of the Cerner Millennium IT system as the configuration of the system has taken place between the supplier, BT and their subcontractor Cerner and the trust.

North Bristol NHS Trust: Information and Communications Technology

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much has been (a) paid to date and (b) he expects to be paid in the future to the local service provider for the Cerner Millennium IT system at the North Bristol NHS Trust;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to date to the North Bristol NHS Trust of the development and deployment of the Cerner Millennium IT system.

Simon Burns: No payments have been made to date to the local service provider for the Cerner Millennium information technology system at the North Bristol NHS Trust. Payment will be made 45 days after delivery of a working system, which is planned for 8 December 2011. Once the deployment has been proved successful by the trust, a one-off deployment charge of £15.2 million will be made followed by an annual service charge of £2 million, only payable while the trust continues to use the system. These figures are in 2009-10 prices.
	North Bristol NHS Trust has spent £3.9 million since the start of the project for the development and deployment of the Cerner Millennium IT system.

Obesity: Females

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce obesity among women.

Anne Milton: The Government are concerned about the prevalence of obesity in women. As set out in “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England”, we are taking a life course approach with the aim of reducing levels of overweight and obesity in adults and children.
	The “Call to action” sets out the key role for central Government, for local areas in developing approaches which work best for local communities and for specific population groups facing the greatest challenges, and for other partners.
	A copy of the “Call to action” has already been placed in the Library.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2011, Official Report, column 537W, on radiotherapy, and the answer of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 458W, on radiotherapy, how stereotactic body radiotherapy treatment will be commissioned under his proposals for the NHS.

Paul Burstow: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is currently commissioned as a specialised service by regional specialised commissioning groups and as informed by the specialised services national definitions set. The intention, subject to parliamentary approval, is that in the future services such as SBRT for people with rare and complex cancers should be directly commissioned by the National Health Service Commissioning Board (NHSCB).
	However, no official decisions have yet been taken on what services will be directly commissioned by the NHSCB from April 2013.

Sex: Health Services

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the indicators for sexual health in the forthcoming Public Health Outcomes Framework meet the needs of women of all ages; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We are considering the consultation responses to the Public Health Outcomes Framework, which includes three indicators relevant to sexual health and we will publish that framework very soon. We will also be publishing a new sexual health policy document in spring 2012. This will consider the needs of women of all ages.

Sex: Health Services

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's sexual health policy document.

Anne Milton: The Department plans to publish a sexual health policy document in spring 2012. The document will set sexual health in the context of the proposed new commissioning arrangements and will promote the evidence base for improving sexual health; including behaviour change and links to wider public health issues.

Smoking

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to provide information for the public on the effects of inhaling second hand tobacco smoke.

Anne Milton: Second hand smoke is a serious health hazard, and there is no safe level of exposure. While smokefree legislation has removed second hand smoke from enclosed work and public places, people can still be exposed to it at home or in family cars.
	In March, the Department published “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England”, which sets out the Government's plans to tackle tobacco use over the next five years. This plan includes our commitment to launch a national marketing campaign, planned for spring 2012, to remind smokers of the risks of exposing children and adults to second hand smoke. We want people to recognise the risks of second hand smoke and decide voluntarily to make their homes and family cars smokefree.
	In addition, the NHS Smokefree website:
	www.nhs.uk/smokefree
	contains information on the harms of second hand smoke. Materials, including leaflets, are also made available by the Department on the harms of second hand smoke for use by local areas.
	A copy of “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England” has already been in the Library.

Smoking: Motor Vehicles

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the evidence presented to the inquiry on smoking in private vehicles by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health.

Anne Milton: The Department has received a copy of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health’s report on smoking in private vehicles. This report is currently under consideration.

Smoking: Motor Vehicles

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the practicalities of enforcing a smoking ban in privately owned vehicles.

Anne Milton: The Department has not commissioned any specific research on the practicalities of enforcing a smoking ban in privately owned vehicles. However, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health recently conducted an inquiry into smoking in private vehicles. The report of that inquiry, published in November 2011, addresses regulation and enforcement issues with respect to smoking in cars. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health’s report is currently under consideration by the Department.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Procurement

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proposals he has made to the European Commission on the simplification of EU rules on government procurement; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: On 21 November 2011, I put the case to the European Commission in Brussels for a radical simplification of the public procurement directives to reduce costs for business and for procurers.
	The details of our proposals are set out in the Government's response to the Commission's Green Paper on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy, which we published in July 2011. This can be found at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/0707UKGPpbResponsefinal%20(2).pdf

Business

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure that public sector spending stimulates growth in the small business sector.

Francis Maude: On 21 November 2011, I unveiled a radical package of measures that will change how Government buys from the private sector in a way that supports business and promotes growth:
	Government will provide an open door for current and future suppliers to discuss forthcoming procurement opportunities, cutting the time taken in the procurement process, and working with industry to identify and address any key capabilities needed to meet future demand.
	We will publish a pipeline of potential business opportunities across Government, giving an unprecedented view into the Government's expected future requirements and helping business to build the confidence to invest in plants, machinery and people.
	We will work with Departments to ensure that SMEs can access the value of procurement, including where relevant encouraging or challenging prime contractors to do more, or breaking up large contracts.
	We will make it 40% faster to do business with Government so that, from January, all but the most complex procurement processes will be completed within 120 working days compared to the average of 200 days now.
	And we will require all civil servants responsible for running major procurements to be trained in the Government's new approach.
	These measures build on the earlier initiatives to support SMEs that we announced in February.

Communities First Programme

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the potential role of the (a) Community Organisers programme and (b) Community First scheme in tackling social exclusion.

Nick Hurd: The Government recognise that supporting the most disadvantaged is a key part of the big society approach which focuses on enabling all groups in society to be able to play their part.
	The Community Organisers programme aims to stimulate and support greater social action, particularly in areas of high deprivation. Both the National Partner, Locality, and their training partner, RE:generate, have a strong history of supporting and working with people from disadvantaged backgrounds. RE:generate's method, Listening Matters, focuses on having conversations with as many people as possible to find out their issues and their opinions, thereby ensuring that everyone's voice is heard, and not just those that speak the loudest.
	The Community First programme is designed to encourage people to come together to make their neighbourhood a better place to live. The focus is on building social capital, encouraging ‘bonding and bridging’ within and between different parts of a neighbourhood. The design of the programme is underpinned with principles from Community Organising, ensuring that improvements are community-led and that people take responsibility for those things that they can do themselves.

Federation of Small Businesses

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions he has met the Federation of Small Businesses to discuss the role of public sector spending in stimulating small business growth.

Francis Maude: holding answer 1 December 2011
	There have been no meetings with the Federation of Small Businesses. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations

Government Procurement

Malcolm Wicks: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what effect the Growth Review and Procurement Review will have on ensuring that Government tenders include an assessment of the (a) jobs, (b) tax revenues, (c) potential benefits to the domestic manufacturing supply chain and (d) welfare costs associated with jobs moving overseas in assessing the value for money of bids; and whether these factors will be assessed when assessing tenders for new nuclear power stations.

Francis Maude: On 21 November 2011, I announced a new approach to ensure the huge purchasing power of Government supports the task of boosting growth, and enables the Government to actively shape the UK market for the long term.
	This approach is reflected in the autumn statement and associated documentation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), published on 29 November 2011. This can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/as2011_index.htm

Industrial Disputes: Voluntary Organisations

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on encouraging voluntary groups to maintain key services during periods of industrial action.

Francis Maude: All public services are expected to have robust contingency plans in place to minimise any disruption to essential services from a wide range of challenges including industrial action. Such plans will look to reprioritise activities and resources as appropriate, manage demand, and draw in additional staffing and expertise where necessary, including from the voluntary sector.

Public Sector: Trade Union Officials

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will issue a standard facility time agreement to public sector employers which sets out (a) duties which can be undertaken, (b) procedures for approval of such facilities time and (c) provision for the publication of (i) each instance of such facilities time and (ii) the cost of such time.

Francis Maude: The Government intend to commence consultation shortly with the nationally recognised civil service trade unions on facility time. The aim of the consultation is to introduce a new framework for the provision of facility time and time off for trade union activities in the civil service.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Bureaucracy

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what progress her Department has made on reducing administrative burdens for farmers;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken since its announcement that farmers with the best track records on environmental protection and animal welfare could have fewer inspections.

James Paice: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my written statement of 3 November 2011, Official Report, columns 40-41WS and the interim response to the independent Farm Regulation Task Force, which set out the work that is being done to apply and implement the recommendations made by the task force. I was also pleased to announce changes to the animal welfare inspection regime in Great Britain at the same time, in response to the recent public consultation. In particular, that from January 2012, we will concentrate most cross compliance inspections on those farms that have the highest risk of non compliance, recognising that members of livestock assurance or organic certification schemes have been shown to be lower risk.

Biofuels: Imports

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on the likely effects of importation of woody material to the UK for biomass consumption on the price of (a) wood for use in furniture and building and (b) food in exporting countries.

James Paice: International wood prices are determined by a number of complex variables such as the demand for wood across different sectors (e.g. paper and pulp and energy), the supply of raw material from both domestic and international sources, and exchange rate fluctuations. The international nature of the markets also makes the establishment of direct links between use patterns and prices extremely difficult. Industries that tend to use imported material will mainly be affected by fluctuations in the international prices, while those that do not have such close links with the international markets are less likely to see such strong effects.
	Currently there is not enough historical data to provide firm information about the link between imported biomass for use in the energy sector and the impact on prices for other sectors. DEFRA has been working with the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and other Departments, as well as representatives from industry, including the agriculture, energy, and wood panelling sectors, to understand the evidence base in this complex area.
	On the domestic biomass supply side (as set out in the Woodfuel Implementation Plan of June 2011), Forestry Commission England is working to bring more existing private woodlands into active management to help supply both fuel and non-fuel markets. In addition, increased demand for bioenergy may lead to upward pressure on the price of sawdust and other coproducts from furniture makers and other wood processors.
	In the short term, woody biomass imports are likely to continue to come from existing forests. If these are sustainably managed, it is unlikely that the demand from the bioenergy sector will result in significant land use change or influence food prices.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to monitor the presence of tuberculosis in camelids and the extent of any infection.

James Paice: There is no mandatory TB surveillance programme for camelids because they are not regarded as significant reservoirs of TB infection for other species.
	There are no validated, sufficiently accurate and practical diagnostic techniques to routinely screen live camelids for TB. Surveillance for TB infection in camelids in Great Britain relies primarily on notifications of suspected cases detected during post mortem examination by private veterinarians and Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) regional laboratories. Owners and their private veterinarians are under legal obligation to notify such cases to AHVLA.
	The July 2011 TB Eradication programme for England includes measures to tackle TB in non-bovine farmed species, including pigs, goats, deer, sheep, alpacas and llamas.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations her Department has received from welfare organisations on the impact of bovine TB on the welfare and well-being of farmers and their families.

James Paice: In 2009 the Farm Crisis Network published a report entitled ‘Stress and Loss: A report on the impact of bovine TB on farming families':
	http://www.farmcrisisnetwork.org.uk/tb_support
	DEFRA has since worked with this charity to set up a free business support service for TB-affected farmers.

Dangerous Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on dangerous dogs.

James Paice: Over the last months, my noble Friend Lord Henley, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Lords), has met with the Assistant Chief Constable of the North Wales police force to discuss the issue of dangerous dogs. Additionally, the Association of Chief Police Officers have been engaged in stakeholder meetings, including one held most recently, on the subject of irresponsible dog ownership which was chaired by my noble Friend, Lord Taylor of Holbeach.

Devolution

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the outcomes were of the meeting between her Department and the devolved Ministers on 28 October 2011; whether any specific outcomes related to Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial counterparts in the devolved administrations on Common Agricultural Policy reform.

James Paice: No meeting with the devolved Administration Ministers took place on 28 October. However I and my DEFRA ministerial colleagues meet with our devolved counterparts to discuss Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other EU matters on a regular basis. Most recently we met to discuss the Commission's package of draft CAP regulations for the next multi annual financial framework period (2014-20) in advance of the UK's response at Agricultural Council on 20 October.
	The DEFRA ministerial team also met devolved Ministers with responsibility for policy areas on which DEFRA represents the UK in EU negotiations on 25 October. The meeting discussed the practicalities of working relationships on EU issues, including how to build a spirit of trust and respect, how to maximise the UK's impact on EU policy; and the specific concerns of devolved Administrations regarding the application of EU policies in their regions.

Food Supply

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what long-term assessment she has made of the prospects for UK food security in 2050 arising from the upper and lower limits of the Office for National Statistics' projected population range for 2050.

James Paice: The Office for National Statistics produce population projections for the UK based on a set of demographic assumptions. Their principal projection for the UK in 2050 is 78.4 million. Population projections become increasingly uncertain the further they are carried forward and the long-term figures should be treated with great caution.
	Our food security depends on access to the world market; and our domestic food industry needs to be able to compete on the world stage. In a world where climate instability can disrupt patterns of production, food security cannot be delivered from a narrow, self-interested, national protectionist stance, or by recommending self-sufficiency.
	Earlier this year the Government's chief scientist, Sir John Beddington, published a Foresight report into the Future of Food and Farming which looked at the challenges today and in the future. It explored how we can feed a global population of 9 billion by 2050 healthily and sustainably and identified hunger and environmental degradation as the key problems we face. The Foresight world population figures are derived from United Nations projections.
	As an immediate response to the report, DEFRA have signed up to a Foresight Action Plan which will include:
	championing an integrated approach to food security;
	pressing for integration of agricultural GHGs into UNFCCC process;
	taking forward Nagoya work on international biodiversity;
	promoting the importance of sustainable intensification;
	pressing for trade liberalisation and CAP/CFP reform;
	showcasing what can be achieved on food waste reduction within the UK and share best practice; and
	increasing the productivity and competitiveness of UK food and farming and ensure that agriculture and the food sector can contribute fully to the green economy.

Forestry Commission: Termination of Employment

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on exit costs for staff leaving the Forestry Commission in the last year.

James Paice: Following the reductions agreed at the spending review and in line with the Government's determination to tackle the national deficit, the Forestry Commission has been provided with £4.9 million this financial year from the DEFRA Modernisation Fund to support a programme of voluntary early exits, to be spent by 31 March 2012. In addition, the Forestry Commission, a non-ministerial department responsible for operating within its budget allocation, has committed £0.1 million from its own budget for voluntary early exits over this same period.

Forests

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department plans to consult on the interim findings of the independent panel on forestry.

James Paice: The Independent Panel on Forestry's final report is due in spring 2012, although we understand that it will publish a progress report very soon. It is for the Panel to decide on what consultation it will do as part of its work.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the possible effect of the relocation of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority from her Department to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the activities of unlicensed gangmasters in the agricultural sector.

James Paice: There are currently no plans to relocate the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) from DEFRA to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Therefore, no assessment has been made of the effect this might have.

Livestock: Waste Disposal

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has received any evidence of harm to public health or the environment as a result of the burial of fallen stock on a farm. [R]

James Paice: The Department has not received any specific evidence of on-farm burial causing harm to public health or the environment since it was banned in 2003 under the EU Animal By-Products (ABP) Regulation 1774/2002 (and continued in its successor regulation 1069/2009). The ban was made on a precautionary basis influenced by the evidence provided in a number of scientific opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and its predecessor the Scientific Steering Committee. The evidence relating to those opinions identified the following uncertainties:
	location of burial sites;
	potential for transmission of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) from specified risk material buried near the surface was poorly characterised;
	extent to which infectivity would be reduced by burial;
	penetration of prions into leachates and groundwater;
	dangers arising from “re-engineering” in areas where previous burial of TSE contaminated material had occurred.

Palm Oil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps she has taken to encourage food companies to source palm oil from sustainable sources.

James Paice: In May 2011 DEFRA published a study which mapped UK palm oil supply chains. The project looked at how much palm oil we use, in what products, where it comes from and how much could be considered sustainable. It also looked at the potential actions that could be undertaken to move towards the UK sourcing only sustainably produced palm oil. The project involved businesses from across the industry and its report is available on the research section of DEFRA's website.
	Following publication of this study, we have been investigating possible further action in two main areas:
	Work with business groups to explore options for a collaborative voluntary commitment on sustainability of UK palm oil consumption; and
	Developing the business case for including sustainable palm oil requirements in Government Buying Standards.

Reed

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the proportion of thatching reed used in England which was sourced from the UK in each year since 2006.

James Paice: The Government have made no assessment of the proportion of thatching reed used or sourced in the UK.

Sky Lanterns

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on regulating the use of Chinese lanterns in order to protect livestock on farms; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: We share farmers' concern about the potential risks of sky lanterns (also known as Chinese lanterns). We are continuing to work with other Departments and the agricultural industry to address them.
	Our current approach is to raise public awareness of the potential dangers posed by sky lanterns (and to focus on voluntary action with the aim of influencing consumer behaviour). I wrote to the British Hospitality Association in the summer to advise its membership of hotels, restaurants and other venues of the problems they cause, principally the harm to livestock and litter and to ask that they discourage customers from using these lanterns. DEFRA also issued a press release earlier this month for bonfire night to warn people of the harm sky lanterns can cause.
	We are also pursuing other voluntary options and working closely with the National Farmers Union and the Women's Farming Union as they gather the evidence necessary to justify any potential future ban. These two organisations are doing a sterling job in raising awareness of the risks posed by sky lanterns and urging support for local farmers.
	In parallel, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills is raising the issue with the Commission and exploring the views of other member states.

Sustainable Development

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to tackle the challenges of population growth for sustainable development ahead of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The birth of the ‘seven billionth baby' on 31 October served to emphasise the challenges that we face in providing a prosperous, sustainable future for a rapidly growing global population. Natural resources are neither inexhaustible nor free. At Rio+20 (the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development), we must make the case for a greener global economy—showing that growth need not occur at a cost to the environment, that this growth can be inclusive, and that sustainability is the foundation for long-term prosperity. We must also make clear that the major global challenges facing us—for example, food security, environmental degradation, climate change and poverty eradication—are inextricably linked, and that we will not succeed in tackling them piecemeal.
	The UK is pushing for an ambitious outcome at Rio+20—we should agree tangible actions that make a difference. Engagement and preparations are under way; we have submitted initial ideas to the UN ahead of the Conference, and are developing the UK's position and engaging with EU and international partners.

World War II: Medals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to encourage former members of the Women's Land Army and Timber Corps to apply for the Women's Land Army and Timber Corps badge.

James Paice: Since the launch of the award in 2008 more than 35,000 badges have been issued to former members of the Women's Land Army (WLA) and Women's Timber Corps (WTC). DEFRA continues to receive a number of requests for badges and where the application meets the criteria, a badge will be awarded. The application form for the WLA badge is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmmanage/working/wla/

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Arts

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the current Standard Industrial Classification codes in quantifying the economic contribution of the creative industries.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 5 December 2011
	Creative industries are a collection of specialised business activities reaching across the whole range of industrial sectors including:
	printing and fashion in the manufacturing sector;
	retail of art and antiques;
	architectural and design services; and
	publishing and advertising.
	As this group of industries is so wide and detailed the standard industrial classification system (SIC) is never going to be ideal for capturing it entirely.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have policy responsibility for creative industries and, in close consultation with a number of other Government Departments including BIS, have formed a SIC-based definition. DCMS will be publishing a statistical bulletin on the creative industries on 8 December.

Debt Recovery

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many claims have been made under the Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act 1998 in each year since the Act was passed.

Mark Prisk: The Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act 1998 provides suppliers with the right to claim interest for late payment and reasonable debt recovery costs.
	Government do not hold a record of the number of claims as they are made by the supplier direct to the purchaser: the supplier informs the purchaser that payment is overdue and seeks both prompt payment and the claim for interest and recovery costs. It is only where the purchaser does not pay the interest and/or debt recovery costs that the supplier can then pursue their claim through the courts. Claims of this type are not centrally recorded. Guidance on late payment legislation can be found at:
	www.bis.gov.uk/files/file37581.pdf
	It is important to note that late payment legislation is intended to be a deterrent against late payment, not a routine way of dealing with an overdue invoice. Suppliers should therefore reference the Act and the costs of overdue payment in all invoicing to make clear to the purchaser when payment is due and the additional costs of failing to pay on time.
	In that context, it is estimated that over half of UK transactions are not covered by pre-agreed terms, and Barclays estimate that only one in 10 suppliers regularly credit checks their customers. This suggests that there is much suppliers can do to improve their management of supplier relationships and that is why we have joined forces with the Institute of Credit Management and the UK's leading business representative and financial bodies to produce and promote the highly regarded Managing Cashflow guides:
	www.creditmanagement.org.uk/bisguides.htm

Business: Government Assistance

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available for those (a) wishing to start a business and (b) running a business.

Mark Prisk: The information is as follows.
	(a) The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consulted on the effectiveness of business support delivery and what improvements could be made to the Business Link service with representatives from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Engineering Employers Federation, the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Private Business, the British Chambers of Commerce and the Institute of Directors, with a group of independent entrepreneurs including members of the Secretary of State's Entrepreneurs Forum, and through the business representative bodies, via workshops in every English region involving business support practitioners, providers (including enterprise agencies), local authorities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
	(b) Improvements identified included: a preference for advice to business provided by peer networks, professionals and intermediaries such as, accountants and banks; Government funding for targeted face to face advice to be aimed at SMEs with high growth potential; easier access to business information, advice on regulation and Government transactions on the Business Link website and the ability to personalise content; Government not to duplicate private sector provision.
	On 14 November 2011 we launched a new approach to the way people receive the information, advice and guidance they need to start and grow their business. This was developed with experts in the relevant subject matter and tested with prospective SME users. The mentoring web portal was developed in conjunction with the British Banking Association.
	Our new approach is based on: digital services which provide high quality information and advice, accessible when businesses need them; and face to face advice provided by business people for business people, not by the public sector. We have:
	Revamped the Business Link website
	www.businesslink.gov.uk
	introduced two new online services; a dedicated “My New Business” area developed by experts to provide training, tools and checklists for those looking to start a business; and the new Growth and Improvement Service which will provide new tools to help businesses understand the issues they face, plus a business support and an events finder tool so businesses can find out what is available to them locally. To ensure services are readily accessible and meet a variety of needs, our services include online tools, tutorials and case studies, and will be accessible using mobile technology.
	Established a national helpline to help people find what they need on the web and for those who cannot access the web.
	Encouraged businesses to seek a business mentor to help them develop their business and encouraging mentoring organisations to offer access to their mentors through a mentoring portal,
	www.mentorsme.co.uk
	Almost concluded the procurement of a new Business Coaching for Growth (BCG) Programme to enable small businesses with high growth potential to realise their potential.

Capita

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each such contract.

Edward Davey: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 October 2011, Official Report, column 748W, to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt).

Construction: Billing

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effect on sub-contractors of late or non-payment of bills by larger contractors in the construction industry.

Mark Prisk: The impact assessment for the Revision of the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 Construction Contract (England) Exclusion Order 2011 estimated that commercial disputes between contractors and sub-contractors had an estimated financial cost of £40 million in 2010. The exact proportion of these disputes relating directly to late or non-payment is unknown, as is the proportion of the disputes costs that fall on sub-contractors as opposed to contractors. Amendments to the above legislation were commenced in October aimed at mitigating the cost of such disputes.
	There is also evidence that payments within the construction sector are improving relative to other sectors in the UK. The pH Group, a subsidiary of Experian, provide data by industry sector in respect of days beyond term (DBT) payments, i.e. the number of days later than contract terms by which invoices were paid. The latest data show that construction was the only sector where DBT fell over the last quarter (Q3 2011) which is the second consecutive quarterly fall in DBT for the construction sector. The number of days beyond term for the construction sector is now 13.15 days, which is the second lowest (behind only the agricultural sector) out of the 11 sectors reviewed, and well below the UK average of 16.62 days.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that the same standards of animal welfare for whole eggs apply to imported liquefied eggs procured by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible.

Edward Davey: The Department’s contracted catering and conference supplier Baxter Storey only use pasteurised liquid egg that is bought in the UK and is Lion Brand standard. Baxter Storey do not buy non UK whole egg or liquid egg.
	Information for non departmental bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of food sourced by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible was procured from UK food producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: The Department's catering and conference services are contracted to Baxter Storey who source the food used.
	Currently 85% of all produce and 92% of indigenous produce is procured from UK food producers.
	Information for non departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible are taking to ensure that they meet the Government's buying standards for food and catering.

Edward Davey: The central Department’s conference and catering is contracted out to Baxter Storey. Since the inception of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) in 2003 and now the Government Buying Standard, Baxter Storey has operated a policy of full compliance in all its Government contracts.
	Information for non departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Procurement

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what procedures his Department has put in place to ensure value for money on purchases; and what savings have been identified using those procedures in the last year.

Edward Davey: In August 2011, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), announced that the Efficiency and Reform Group’s new measures had saved £3.75 billion over 2010/11.
	This impact was assessed using methodologies in the following table. The assessment has been independently verified by Government auditors who found the benefits assertions to be fairly calculated and presented.
	These savings are borne out in Department accounts. The table on page 79 of the annual report and accounts 2010-11 (HC1001) reports that non-pay gross administration costs for BIS reduced from £187 million in 2009-10 to £140 million in 2010-11. Figures in this report are prepared in accordance with HM Treasury’s Financial Reporting Manual for central Government Departments and associated Treasury resource accounting and budgeting guidance.
	
		
			 Activity and calculation method 
			 Area Activity description Evidence base/calculation 
			 Consulting Government put in place a moratorium on new consulting spend, and extensions to existing contracts. Where spend was considered operationally critical (for example, where it might put at risk critical services) an exception process existed for Department Ministers to sign off expenditure over £20,000. Savings are calculated by subtracting total departmental reported spend on consultancy for 2010/11 from total departmental reported spend on consultancy for 2009/10. To reduce the risk of costs shifting between categories, we also monitored expenditure on other professional services categories, including contingent labour. 
			    
			 Crown Commercial Government have renegotiated deals with some of the largest suppliers to Government. The method of calculation varies according to the initiative that yields the saving, but was based on cash releasing savings against a baseline of what would have otherwise been spent. This was often price savings against the previous price paid. Savings agreed with suppliers are recorded in memoranda of understanding as guaranteed-in-year or conditional-in-year savings. Realised savings were subsequently tracked back to departmental verification of supplier progress reports. 
			    
			 Contingent Labour Government have significantly cut the number of temporary staff. Savings are calculated by subtracting total departmental reported spend on contingent labour for 2010/11 from total departmental reported spend on contingent labour for 2009/10. 
			    
			 Communications Government froze all new marketing spend unless it is an operational necessity. Where spend was proposed, ministerial sign-off was required for £20,000 or above. Calculations compare departmental spend on marketing and advertising through COI for 2010/11 with that for 2009/10. 
			 Centralising Procurement Government has started to centralise spend on common goods and services to drive down prices. These savings derive from the 10 categories of expenditure targeted for centralisation, and relate to price savings through increased aggregation. For each initiative, calculations are performed using individual benefit methodologies that set out how savings will be calculated against a 2009/10 price baseline. Evidence is management information provided by suppliers. 
			    
		
	
	
		
			 ICT We implemented: (a) a moratorium on all new ICT spend above £1 million; and (b) a review of all ongoing ICT commitments. Departments also reported those projects that were closed before undergoing the review. Calculations are based on departmental reports of spend that has not proceeded. Spend that has not gone ahead in 2010/11 is recorded, as a result of stopping or reducing spend. Further, sustainable savings are targeted through the Government ICT strategy. 
			    
			 Major Projects We reviewed the Government’s biggest projects to see where 2010/11 costs could practically be reduced within contractual constraints, or wasteful projects stopped altogether. We have halted or curtailed spend on four projects: 14-19 Reform—£60 million, Identity Cards—£50, million Highways Agency Projects—£54 million, and Whole Farm—£5 million. We have redacted £22 million of potential double counting from these figures, that arises between this work and our supplier renegotiation work stream. £14.9 million arises from the Home Office National Identity Cards and £6.7 million from DEFRA Whole Farm. HMT have provided assurance that the relevant amounts were removed from departmental budgets following the Major Projects-related negotiations. 
			    
			 Property We put in place national property controls such that signature of new property leases or lease extensions were approved centrally. It has not always been possible to net off all costs associated with vacating buildings. However, we have also not claimed savings in respect of revenue from property disposals. Calculations are property by property based on the amount Departments have reported saved through the Government’s property database by non-renewal of property leases at lease breaks or upon lease expiry.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Edward Davey: In 2007, the Department outsourced the assessment of what reasonable adjustments were recommended for staff with disabilities or long-term health conditions.
	The Department has outsourced no other services in each of the last five years.

Derby Economic Task Force

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2011, Official Report, column 762W, on rolling stock: procurement, if he will publish the minutes, actions and attendees of the Derby Economic Task Force meeting held on 31 October 2011.

Mark Prisk: There was not a Derby Economic Task Force meeting on 31 October. There was a sub group meeting about supply chains on that day. The Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce are the lead organisation.

Export Credits Guarantees

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much outstanding debt is owed to the UK through the Export Credits Guarantee, broken down by country.

Edward Davey: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards), on 9 November 2011, Official Report, column 375W.

Export Credits Guarantees: Arab States

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which sovereign states have owed money to the Export Credits Guarantee Department due to defaults by the Arab Organization for Industrialization since 1981.

Edward Davey: None.

Export Credits Guarantees: Libya

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what projects backed by the Export Credits Guarantee Department involved exports to or investments in Libya since 2000-01.

Edward Davey: The Export Credits Guarantee Department has not supported any export contracts to or investments in Libya since 2000-01 to date.

Marine Stewardship

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of fish sourced by (a) his Department and (b) those agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible are procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources

Edward Davey: The central Department's conference and catering is contracted out to Baxter Storey who are currently sourcing 35% of fish from Marine Stewardship Council-approved sustainable sources.
	I have approached the chief executives of the Department's executive agencies and they will respond to the hon. Member directly. Information for non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Letter from David Williams, dated 5 December 2011
	Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills regarding what proportion of fish sourced by (a) his Department and (b) those agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible are procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources. (83910)
	The UK Space Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has procured no fish from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources.
	The UK Space Agency are tenants in Polaris House, Swindon, in which catering services are supplied by the Research Councils UK, who have a catering contract with Baxter Storey. All food procurement is made by the catering contractor.
	Letter from John Alty, dated 5 December 2011
	I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled for 25 November 2011, asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, what proportion of fish sourced by (a) his Department and (b) those agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible are procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources.
	The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) does not conduct any food related procurement activities. The IPO has access to a catering contract owned by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), for the provision of hospitality and restaurant facilities for IPO staff. ONS confirm that currently the proportion of fish procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources is zero. Therefore the proportion offish procured from marine Stewardship council approved sustainable sources is zero for the IPO.
	Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 5 December 2011
	Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills asking the Skills Funding Agency (the Agency) what proportion of fish sourced by (a) his Department and (b) those agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible are procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources (83910)
	Please be advised that the Agency does not directly purchase fish. Its caterers are committed to responsible sourcing and all fish products are sourced within UK and international regulatory guidelines.
	Letter from Dr Vanessa Laurence CB, dated 30 November 2011
	As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to reply to your question with the information on what proportion of fish sourced by Ordnance Survey is procured from Marine Stewardship Council {MSC) approved sustainable sources.
	Ordnance Survey's procurement of food is managed by a third party. Their seafood supplier is recognised as a Key Foodservice Supplier by the Marine Stewardship Council offering MSC certified products within their chain of custody framework.
	It is estimated that Ordnance Survey's catering provider is currently sourcing 35% of its fish from MSC approved sustainable sources. This percentage is, I understand, likely to increase soon, as the company responsible for managing Ordnance Survey's catering facilities are currently in the process of achieving ‘company wide’ MSC chain of custody accreditation. In addition, I have been informed that no fish that sit in the red category of the online MSC fish database are served by our supplier.
	Letter from Stephen Speed, dated November 2011
	The Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question, what proportion of fish sourced by (a) his Department and (b) those agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible are procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources.
	The Insolvency Service Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has procured no fish from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources.
	The Insolvency Service no longer has canteen facilities.
	Letter from John Hirst, dated 29 November 2011
	I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 25 November 2011, UIN83910 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Met Office itself does not procure any fish. However, catering is provided by Eurest Services at the Met Office Headquarters in Exeter. Eurest Services does not source any fish products from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) “Fish to Avoid” list. Moreover, I understand the majority of Eurest's fish supply has MSC accreditation and that it is currently reviewing the MSC “Fish to Eat” list against the remainder of its supply.
	I hope this helps.
	Letter from David Evans, dated 29 November 2011
	You tabled the following Parliamentary Question on 25 November 2011:
	“To ask the Secretary of State, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of fish sourced by (a) his Department and (b) those agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible are procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources”.
	Land Registry, who are an Executive Agency within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, do not directly source fish however we do have one staff canteen, for which the contract for catering has been outsourced. Our catering provider sources 100 percent of the fresh fish served from Marine Stewardship Council certified suppliers.
	Letter from Peter Mason, dated 30 November 2011
	I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 25 November 2011, asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of fish sourced for his Department and the Agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible are procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources.
	NMO has responsibility for its site in Teddington that also houses the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), a Government Owned Contractor Operated body. We provide restaurant and hospitality facilities for NPL and NMO through a total facilities management contract. We have received verbal assurance from the catering sub-contractor, Baxter-Storey, that 100% of the fish used in delivering the catering and hospitality service are procured from Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable sources.
	Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 28 November 2011
	I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 25 November 2011, UIN 83910 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Companies House does not procure seafood directly but our contracted catering provider only procures fish from sustainable sources approved by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Fossil Fuels: Export Credits Guarantees

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2011, Official Report, column 271W, on fossil fuels: export credits guarantees, whether he plans to announce his decision before the Christmas recess.

Edward Davey: No firm date has been fixed.

Government Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contribution his Department has made towards meeting the Government's target of procuring 25 per cent. of central Government supplies from small and medium-sized enterprises.

Edward Davey: The Department in financial year 2010-11 spent £48.2 million directly with small and medium-sized enterprises, equating to 19% of total procurement spend for that period.
	In September 2011, the latest period for which figures are available, the Department spent £3,789,000 directly with small and medium-sized enterprises, equating to 18.35% of total procurement spend.

Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to increase the power of suppliers in relation to large retailers under the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill.

Edward Davey: By enforcing and overseeing the Groceries Code, the Groceries Code Adjudicator will strengthen the position of suppliers in relation to large retailers.

Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill will have provision to protect the anonymity of suppliers when requesting an investigation be launched;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that the criteria for launching an investigation under the provisions of the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill do not adversely affect the ability of a supplier to request an investigation anonymously.

Edward Davey: Protecting the confidentiality of suppliers who raise a complaint will be both a power and a duty of the Adjudicator.

Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Groceries Code Adjudicator will be given the ability to launch an investigation if he has reasonable grounds to suspect a breach of the Groceries Code regardless of where the evidence has originated.

Edward Davey: The Groceries Code Adjudicator will be able to launch an investigation based on information that is publicly available, or information provided by a supplier. The Government have agreed to consider the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee’s proposals that information provided by trade bodies and industry whistleblowers should also be considered.

Manufacturing Advisory Service: Redditch

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans the Manufacturing Advisory Service has to provide assistance to manufacturers in Redditch; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: A new Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) national service will launch on 1 January 2012. The national service will be delivered locally by people who understand the dynamics of their local economies while leveraging leading edge national resources. MAS will work with the Worcester and Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnerships and regional sector bodies to ensure provision is driving local impacts, both in terms of priorities and local tailoring of services.

Manufacturing Advisory Service: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans the Manufacturing Advisory Service has to provide assistance to manufacturers in Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: A new Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) national service will launch on 1 January 2012. The national service will be delivered locally by people who understand the dynamics of their local economies while leveraging leading edge national resources. MAS will work with the Cambridge and Peterborough Local Enterprise partnership (LEP) and regional sector bodies to ensure provision is driving local impacts, both in terms of priorities and local tailoring of services.

New Businesses: Capital Investment

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage private sector investment in high-risk start-up businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The Government recognise that high risk, innovative start-ups have the potential for high growth and job creation.
	The Government support tax incentives including the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) to encourage private investment in start-up firms. The March 2011 Budget announced changes to the rules and capacity relating to EIS and VCTs to simplify and increase the incentive for investors to use these schemes.
	The Autumn Statement went even further in the targeting of relief toward start-up firms. The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) which will be introduced from April 2012 aims to encourage investment into new early stage companies by providing a higher rate of income tax relief of 50% (compared to the normal EIS rate of 30%) for individuals who invest in qualifying seed companies. To kick start the scheme the Government are offering a capital gains tax exemption on any gains realised in the year 2012-13 that are invested through SEIS in the same year.
	The Government continue to support the early stage market by leveraging in private investment through Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs). ECFs invest £250,000 to £2 million in small, early stage businesses. 10 funds with a total of £250 million to invest have been established and a further £200 million has been committed to leverage an additional £100 million of private sector funding.
	The Government are also supporting the development of a new £50 million Business Angel Co-investment Fund as part of a successful bid to the Regional Growth Fund. The fund will be available to invest, alongside Business Angel networks or syndicates, into eligible start-ups and is due to launch by the end of the year.

Overseas Trade: China

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what process UK Trade and Investment has put in place to track the economic plans of Chinese provinces and identify opportunities for trade for UK firms.

Mark Prisk: Identifying business opportunities for UK firms across China is a key strategic driver of UK Trade and Investment's work. One aspect is a major regional cities initiative which has identified significant opportunities for UK business across 35 Chinese regional cities.
	The addition of some 50 FCO frontline staff into the China Network will also increase our reach, engagement and understanding, and allow us to build closer relationships with China's fastest-growing regions and cities in support of UK business.

Overseas Trade: China

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many trade shows in China UK Trade and Investment has attended; and in which provinces.

Mark Prisk: In 2011-12 there are 19 exhibitions in China in UK Trade and Investment's published Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP), comprising: eight in Beijing, eight in Shanghai, two in Guangzhou and one in Shenzhen. In addition, TAP has agreed support for individual UK exhibitors at a further 10 exhibitions: four in Shanghai, four in Shenzhen, three in Guangzhou and one in Zhuhai. UKTI officials also support UK commercial interests at other exhibitions in different parts of China according to their duties.

Postal Services: Dangerous Dogs

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contribution he has made to the Home Office consultation on anti-social behaviour in respect of the risk posed by dangerous dogs to Royal Mail deliveries to customers.

Edward Davey: I have not made any contribution to the Home Office consultation on antisocial behaviour in respect of the risk posed by dangerous dogs to Royal Mail deliveries to customers.
	I understand that this consultation closed on the 17 May 2011. It would have been an operational matter for Royal Mail to decide to contribute to the consultation, in terms of dangerous dogs, had it felt it appropriate to do so.

Private Sector: Employment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance is offered to former public sector workers to help them find work in the private sector.

Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The primary responsibility for supporting public sector workers made redundant rests with the public sector employer, supported by Jobcentre Plus as appropriate. Employers have a variety of support in place ranging from internal redeployment managers to externally contracted outplacement services. A cross Government career transitions service is also being piloted in London which provides redeployment assistance both inside and beyond the public sector.
	Everybody who loses their job as a result of workforce management measures—including former public sector workers—is able to access support from the Jobcentre Plus led Rapid Response Service both during their redundancy notice period and, for those who require it, up to 13-weeks after their last day of work.
	Those individuals who go on to make a claim to benefit will enter a personalised system of support within Jobcentre Plus that allows more flexibility to Jobcentre Plus. This framework allows advisers greater discretion to draw down from a flexible menu of support options that is tailored to the needs of both the individual and the local labour market.
	In addition, Jobcentre Plus advisers will signpost claimants to appropriate specialised agencies which can help claimants with particular skills or professional capabilities to find relevant suitable work quickly. Jobcentre Plus advisers will also, as appropriate, signpost people to opportunities for starting up their own business through measures like enterprise clubs and/or the new enterprise allowance.

Regional Assistance: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding Northern Ireland has received as a result of its automatic assisted area status in each of the last three years.

Mark Prisk: This is a devolved matter which is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Regional Assistance: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of progress with the review of automatic assisted area status for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the consequences to Northern Ireland of the removal of automatic assisted area status;
	(3)  if he will undertake an equality impact assessment of the potential effect of the removal of automatic assisted area status for Northern Ireland.

Mark Prisk: The removal of the automatic assisted area status for Northern Ireland is one of four proposed changes to the Industrial Development Act 1982. The Government's consultation covering these proposed changes closed on 2 November 2011 and we are on target to publish a response within three months of the consultation close.
	An impact assessment for all four proposed changes was included at annex 3 of the Industrial Development Act Revisions consultation document. The post 2013 allocation implications for Northern Ireland of removing the automatic 100% assisted area coverage will not be known until the new Regional Aid Guidelines are implemented by the European Commission and we start to draw up the 2014-2020 assisted areas map. An economic and equality impact assessment will be undertaken at this time.

Regional Growth Fund

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 112W, on Regional Growth Fund, 
	(1)  how many meetings the Ministerial Group held to consider the panel's recommendations;
	(2)  how many meetings took place; on which days; and which Ministers attended each meeting.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 14 November 2011
	In line with the constitutional convention of collective decision-making, and section 2 of the Ministerial Code, the Government do not disclose details of the internal process through which decisions are taken.

Regional Growth Fund

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, columns 111-12W, on Regional Growth Fund, what the monetary value is of the provisional allocations for the successful bids to the second round of the Regional Growth Fund in each region.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 14 November 2011
	Given as follows is the regional breakdown of provisional (subject to the outcome of due diligence) allocations for winning bids to the second round of the Regional Growth Fund.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 North-west 227 
			 North-east 93 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 143 
			 West midlands 100 
			 East midlands 67 
			 London, south-east and east of England (1)113 
			 South-west 88 
			 Other bids—national 119 
			 (1) This includes value of bids from round 1 where the number of bids is less than 2.

Regional Growth Fund

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much successful bidders to the Regional Growth Fund have paid for the due diligence process to date; and what estimate his Department has made of the total amount that will be paid by successful bidders to complete the due diligence process.

Mark Prisk: 19 projects totalling £112 million, following the completion of due diligence, have signed final contracts and are set to deliver 924 new or safeguarding jobs and nearly 29,000 jobs in the supply chain. We expect that all projects allocated conditional allocations will complete due diligence and will start to receive their share of the £1.4 billion in the spring. The guidance has always been clear that the cost of due diligence should be met by the applicant and that due diligence costs will vary due to commercial circumstances.

Regional Growth Fund

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of successful bids to the Regional Growth Fund that will receive funding in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Mark Prisk: It is normal for regional growth fund funding to be paid in arrears of private sector investment and phased over several years. The majority of successful bids will receive some funding each year.

Regional Planning and Development: North-east England

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much Government funding for regional development has been provided in the North East in each year since 1996.

Mark Prisk: The following table gives total figures for Regional Selective Assistance, Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE) and Grant for Business Investment (GBI) provided in north-east England, combined with the funding for the One North East (ONE) regional development agency established in April 1999.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 1996/97 22.7 
			 1997/98 36.0 
			 1998/99 22.8 
			 1999/2000 110.6 
			 2000/01 121.2 
			 2001/02 190.9 
			 2002/03 231.5 
			 2003/04 247.5 
			 2004/05 251.2 
			 2005/06 250.9 
			 2006/07 294.5 
			 2007/08 293.9 
			 2008/09 267.0 
			 2009/10 261.0 
			 2010/11 201.1 
		
	
	In 2011/12 the current funding allocation to ONE, SFIE and GBI is £100.4 million. In addition, following the completion of rounds 1 and 2 of the bids under the Regional Growth Fund programme, £156.9 million has been allocated to the north-east (for spending between 2011/12 to 2013/14).

Regulation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what best practice timescales his Department advocates for the introduction, removal or change of Government regulations.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Better Regulation Executive has issued guidance on a number of relevant components of the processes for introducing, amending or removing Government regulations. These include:
	12 weeks for public consultation exercises
	guidance being issued twelve weeks before regulations come into effect
	domestic regulations affecting business coming into effect on a Common Commencement Date
	post-implementation review being carried out between three and five years after regulations come into effect
	sunset clauses having effect seven years after regulations come into effect
	In practice, the total time taken for introduction, removal or change will depend on a variety of factors including the scope and complexity of the regulations, whether they are domestic or EU in origin, whether a formal public consultation is required, and the type of parliamentary procedure.

Renewable Energy: Export Credits Guarantees

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that new trade finance products offered by the Export Credits Guarantee Department are marketed and accessible to small and medium-sized renewable energy enterprises.

Edward Davey: I refer my hon. Friend for Richmond Park to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah), on 9 November 2011, Official Report, column 377W.
	The awareness campaign has included companies and trade associations in the renewable energy industry.

Technology and Innovation Centre

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had on the establishment of a Technology and Innovation Centre in the East Midlands.

David Willetts: I have had a range of discussions on the establishment of technology and innovation centres including in the east midlands.
	The network of technology and innovation centres will be established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board and, while I will follow progress on this very closely, the decision on the final technology areas, together with the location of the centres, will be made by the Technology Strategy Board following a process of detailed discussions with the business and academic communities on the basis of where there is most potential for a centre to have a catalytic effect in stimulating long-term economic growth.

Paliamentary Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Edward Davey: Figures indicate that a total of 588 named day parliamentary questions were due for answer by BIS Ministers during the period June to November 2011. 480 (82%) received a substantive reply within five sitting days from the date the parliamentary question was tabled. A total of 549 (93%) received a substantive reply either on the date stipulated by the Member, or within five sitting days from the date stipulated.
	The figures have been drawn from the Department’s database which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

TREASURY

Unemployment

Pat Glass: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast for unemployment in 2012.

Danny Alexander: In line with a weaker outlook for GDP growth, the OBR has revised up the projected level of unemployment over the near term.
	The Government are taking steps to support private sector job creation and reduce unemployment:
	Reducing red tape and facilitating SME‘s access to finance through credit easing, helping businesses to grow and take on new workers;
	Implementing reforms to help people find work including specific support for young people through the Youth Contract.

Regional Investment

Sarah Newton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of fiscal policy on the level of investment in the regions.

Danny Alexander: Returning the UK economy to sustainable economic growth that is more balanced across the UK and sectors is a key priority. In the autumn statement, this Government took steps to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy.
	In addition, we have continued to support investment in all places, increasing the Regional Growth Fund for England by £1 billion, plus Barnett consequentials for the devolved administrations, approving two new Enterprise Zones in Lancashire and the Humber, making 100% capital allowances available in six Enterprise Zones, and funding up to six rural growth networks.

Economic Growth

Karl Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of levels of economic growth in (a) the UK and (b) other G7 countries in the last 12 months.

Chloe Smith: The Government's latest assessment of the UK economy is set out in the autumn statement. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook was published alongside the autumn statement.
	The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development collates GDP data for all member countries. These data show the UK economy growing in the most recent three quarters. The OECD's latest forecast shows UK GDP growing faster than that of France, Italy, and the euro area both next year and in 2013.

UK Current Account Balance

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the UK's current account balance with (a) the EU and (b) non-EU countries in the last year.

Chloe Smith: In 2010 the UK had a current account deficit of £37 billion. This deficit results from a deficit of £52 billion with the EU and a surplus of £16 billion with non EU countries.

Bank Levy

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of the Finance Act 2011 (Bank Levy: Amendment of Netting Agreements Provisions) Order 2011 on the revenue raised by the bank levy.

Mark Hoban: It is estimated that there is a negligible impact as the amendments simply make it clearer how the netting agreements work in respect of these transactions.

Future Jobs Fund

Julie Elliott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effects of cancellation of the Future Jobs Fund on levels of employment.

Danny Alexander: The Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the economy and levels of employment.
	As announced at the autumn statement, the Government are introducing the Youth Contract which provides almost £1 billion in new funding to support up to 500,000 young people into employment and training. The Youth Contract builds on work the Government are already doing to tackle youth unemployment, including apprenticeships, work experience places and the Work programme, one of the largest payment-by-results employment programmes in the world.
	The Government were right to abolish the Future Jobs Fund. It was too expensive and created too many jobs in the public and voluntary sector that were fully funded by the subsidy and therefore ceased when the subsidy ran out. The Youth Contract will create sustainable jobs in the private sector, with an estimated 160,000 wage incentive places to make it easier for private sector employers to take on young people.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason he has decided to extend the working tax credit hours rule but not to impose an hours rule in respect of receipt of universal credit.

David Gauke: Under the current tax credits system, couples with children can claim the working tax credit, if one partner works 16 hours. Lone parents must work at least 16 hours to qualify for the working tax credit. This change makes the system fairer by reducing the disparity in the number of hours which lone parents and couples are obliged to work.
	In 2013, universal credit will provide a new single system of means-tested support for working-age people who are in or out of work. The key aim of universal credit is to move claimants into work, more work or better paid work (and so towards self-sufficiency). To achieve that aim, a single taper rate and a simple system of earnings disregards will allow people in work to see clearly how much support they can get while making sure that people considering a job will understand the advantages of work, thereby smoothing the transition into work, and encouraging progression in work.
	While there will be no hours rules under universal credit, the clear financial incentive provided by universal credit will be backed up by a strong system of conditionality; unemployed people who can work will be required to take all reasonable steps to find and move into employment. The Government intends to apply conditionality at a higher level of income under universal credit than it does under the current benefits system. This will enable the Government to apply work-related requirements to claimants who are in some work but who we expect to earn more than they currently do, in order to reduce their dependency on benefits. This will help people along a journey toward financial independence from the state.

Building Societies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to ensure the interests of all building societies are taken into account in his Department's financial strategy.

Mark Hoban: Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Building Societies Association and individual building societies to discuss a range of policy issues.
	The Government have been working with building societies to ensure a positive outcome in European discussions on the Capital Requirements Regulation.
	Building societies have been consulted on the draft Financial Services Bill, which requires the new regulatory authorities to publish an analysis of how draft rules may affect mutual and non-mutual firms differently, and makes minor amendments to the Building Societies Act.
	Building societies will be consulted on any legislation introduced to implement the findings of the Independent Banking Commission report. The Government will announce their response to the report by the end of this year.

Business: Loans

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of bank lending and credit for businesses.

Mark Hoban: At the autumn statement the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the launching of a package of credit easing measures to help improve the flow of credit to businesses. The National Loan Guarantee Scheme will lead to reductions in the cost of bank loans for smaller businesses while the Business Finance Partnership will deliver additional finance for mid-sized businesses through non-bank lending channels.

Child Care Tax Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in receipt of tax credits whose total weekly working hours are under 24 are in receipt of childcare tax credit; and how much they receive on average.

David Gauke: The working hours requirements for the child care element of working tax credit are 16 hours for a lone parent or 16 hours for each member of a couple (unless one member of the couple is incapacitated, in hospital or in prison). Therefore, apart from a negligible number of couples, all households working fewer than 24 hours and benefiting from the child care element of WTC would be lone parents.
	The number of lone parents benefiting from the childcare element of working tax credit and working fewer than 24 hours as of April 2011 was 127,000. The average amount they received was £66 a week. These households would not be affected by the policy announced by the Government in the spending review of 2010 to restrict working tax credit for couples with children to those who work a combined minimum of 24 hours (with one member working at least 16 hours).

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 352W, on minimum wage, what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on relocation of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to the national minimum wage enforcement team in HM Revenue and Customs; and whether any (a) voluntary or (b) compulsory redundancies would result from such a relocation.

David Gauke: holding answer 2 December 2011
	Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial discussions with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Mortgage Express

George Eustice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many buy-to-let properties have been repossessed by Mortgage Express in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: The Government do not publish data on arrears and repossessions. The Council of Mortgage Lenders collects data on buy-to-let repossessions across the UK. Specific repossessions data for Mortgage Express is not publically available.

Mortgage Express

George Eustice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases concerning Mortgage Express have been referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: The matter raised is for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), whose day-to-day operations are independent from Government. The FOS publishes complaints data on their website at:
	http://www.ombudsman-complaints-data.org.uk

Social Justice Committee

Michael Dugher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings of the Social Justice Committee Ministers in his Department have attended since its establishment.

Chloe Smith: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when and how often they meet and which Ministers have attended, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Taxation

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of an increase in interest rates.

Chloe Smith: An increase in interest rates would be particularly damaging to an economy with the UK's level of indebtedness. A one percentage point rise in the cost of government borrowing would add around £7.5 billion to debt interest payments by 2016-17. A one percentage point rise in effective mortgage rates would add £10 billion a year to households' mortgage interest payments.

Taxation: North-west England

Hazel Blears: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Salford and Eccles constituency and (b) the North West who are subject to the (i) higher and (ii) additional rate of income tax.

David Gauke: An estimated 3.74 million taxpayers are liable to income tax at the 40% higher rate and 308,000 taxpayers are liable to income tax at the 50% additional rate in the United Kingdom in 2011-12.
	In the north west, 318,000 taxpayers are liable to income tax at the 40 per cent higher rate and 18,000 taxpayers are liable to income tax at the 50% additional rate in the 2011-12
	These and estimates for other UK Government Office Regions are published on the HMRC website in tables 2.1 and 2.2 which are available at the following addresses:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-1.pdf
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-2.pdf
	Reliable estimates for taxpayer marginal rates are not available at the parliamentary constituency level, due to greater uncertainties in projections for small geographical areas and small sample sizes.
	These estimates are based on the 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook.
	Estimates of income and tax by parliamentary constituency for 2007-08 and preceding years are available in table 3.1 5:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu-by-year.htm

VAT: Business

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider extending VAT exemptions for VAT-registered businesses in the construction industry building new properties to small firms in other sectors; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: It is not possible to extend existing VAT zero rating to the construction of commercial properties under EU law.
	However, it should be remembered that a VAT registered business that is charged VAT on the construction of a new property will be able to recover the tax, subject to the normal VAT rules.

VAT: Business

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made by the Office of Tax Simplification in reviewing the VAT threshold for business registrations.

David Gauke: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), and I have asked the OTS to reply.
	Letter from John Whiting, dated 2 December 2011
	Gordon Banks MP has submitted a written parliamentary question about the VAT threshold for business registrations. The question was:
	“To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made by the Office of Tax Simplification in reviewing the VAT threshold for business registrations.”
	The OTS's interim report on small business taxation was published on 10 March 2011. The report included a short section (paragraphs 4.61-4.66) on VAT, which did address the question of the registration threshold. Our conclusion was: “On balance we think the registration threshold should stay as it is, though it is an area that is worth further study.”
	The Chancellor responded to this report in Budget 2011, and commissioned the OTS to look into tax administration in their final report on small business taxation. On 9 May 2011, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury wrote to the OTS Chairman, Rt Hon Michael Jack, outlining the Government's response and setting out priorities for the next stage of the Office's work in more detail(1).
	(1) This letter has been published on the OTS website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/ots_xstletter_small_business_tax_review_090511.pdf
	As set out in the Exchequer Secretary's letter, the remit of the work on tax administration will require the OTS to “examine closely small businesses1 experience of tax administration and their contact with HMRC at key stages of their annual cycle” and to “give specific consideration of the issues involved in starting and growing a new business.” The terms of reference for this work are attached in the annex of this document.
	Since the interim report on small business taxation, the OTS has been gathering evidence and conducting research to determine the areas of tax administration that ought to be prioritised. As highlighted in the interim report, the OTS is interested in the administrative difficulties, including those related to VAT and international trade, which pose particular problems for small businesses. The operation of VAT registration is, therefore, very much within the remit, although we understand that HMRC is already working hard to improve the registration process. The OTS has not, however, been asked to review the VAT registration threshold limit.
	The OTS has been asked to deliver recommendations on tax administration for small business ahead of Budget 2012. We would be happy to inform the questioner when the report is published.
	I hope this is helpful, and would like to thank Mr Banks for his interest in our work.

VAT: Charities

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on reviewing the charging of irrecoverable value added tax for charities providing healthcare services; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: HM Treasury officials are currently reviewing the VAT position of charities providing health care services and discussions between the sector and the Department are ongoing.

Welfare Tax Credits: Uprating

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of uprating tax credits using a consumer prices index level of (a) 2.5, (b) 3, (c) 3.1, (d) 3.5, (e) 4, (f) 4.3, (g) 4.5, (h) 4.6, (i) 4.9, (j) 5.1 and (k) 5.2 per cent. in 2012-13.

David Gauke: As of the June Budget 2010, most tax credit elements are uprated by CPI each year. By convention, the CPI for September 2011 would be used to uprate these elements in 2012-13. The official ONS estimate for CPI for September 2011 is 5.2%.
	The following table gives the estimated savings against this baseline for 2012-13 if CPI were to be at the specified levels.
	
		
			 Savings in 2012-13 of different uprating percentages in 2012-13 for the elements that are currently uprated by CPI 
			 Uprating £ million 
			 5.2% 0 
			 5.1% neg 
			 4.9% 40 
			 4.6% 130 
			 4.5% 170 
			 4.3% 200 
			 4% 270 
			 3.5% 400 
			 3.1% 490 
			 3% 500 
			 2.5% 630 
		
	
	In this comparison, we have assumed the following tax credit elements are uprated by CPI in 2012-13:
	Working tax credit
	Disability element
	Severe disability element
	Child tax credit
	Child element
	Disabled child element
	Severely disabled child element
	This answer assumes the couple and lone parent elements of working tax credit are frozen in 2012-13, as announced in the autumn statement 2011. In addition, the basic and 30 hour elements of working tax credit are frozen for three years from 2011-12, as announced at spending review 2010.

Working Tax Credit

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people receive working families tax credit in each constituency; and what the total amount paid was.

David Gauke: The latest information on the number of households in receipt of child tax credit and working tax credit and average award sizes in each constituency can be found in table 3 of the HMRC statistical publication “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics: finalised annual awards 2009-10-geographical analysis”, available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-final-awards-may11.pdf